Teleidoscope Receives $100M Contract to Enhance US Capital Region Air Defense System

California-based automation and augmented reality solutions provider Teleidoscope has won a potential $100 million contract to modernize the National Capital Region-Integrated Air Defense System.

The contractor will replace parts of NCR-IADS with artificial intelligence-enabled solutions, ensuring the defense system can stop unauthorized aircraft from flying over the U.S. capital region. Teleidoscope founder Matt Rabinovitch said the AI upgrades will apply to full-motion-video threads to spot questionably operating aircraft, identify the vehicle and inform operators about their flight behavior.

The contract follows an 18-month prototype phase led by the Defense Innovation Unit, Nextgov/FCW reported.

NCR-IADS, deployed shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, engages with target aircraft to tell pilots that they are operating in restricted airspace. If aviators fail to respond, the system fires a laser at the aircraft’s cockpit to warn pilots that they should start communicating with ground operators before fighter jets are deployed.

According to the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, NCR-IADS uses the Joint Air Defense Operations Center as a central command and control system. JADOC allows the tracker to integrate radar and warning systems from multiple agencies, integrate and coordinate with multiple launcher platforms, create a common operation and situational awareness solution and connect multiple services and agencies.