ZE Government Solutions to Create Sea Defense Models for Air Force Department

The U.S. Air Force’s AFWERX has awarded ZE Government Solutions a Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 contract to help the Department of the Air Force address capability gaps through object classification.

The ZeroEyes subsidiary will use its green screen lab to create models that would allow the DAF to develop or focus on waterside installations to protect against coastline threats. Mike Lahiff, CEO and co-founder of ZeroEyes, said the contract would allow ZEGS to improve the Air Force’s defense capabilities at sea.

The models to be built could include the use of small watercraft and fishing vessels for coastline reconnaissance in the United States and other countries, ZE Government Solutions said.

The contract follows another SBIR Phase I award ZEGS received from AFWERX in August.

The earlier award required the company to create a drone-based indoor threat detection system that uses artificial intelligence-enabled object detection and video analytics. Lahiff said drone-based situational awareness platforms allow operators to detect incidents before they occur.

In July 2022, ZeroEyes received a $1.2 million direct-to-Phase II SBIR grant from AFWERX to create unmanned ground vehicle automated threat detection solutions for drones deployed at Minot Air Force Base.