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Lockheed Martin has made a significant advancement in airborne surveillance, demonstrating an AI-powered Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) system capable of automatically recognizing and tracking maritime targets with high accuracy.
Lockheed Martin believes the technology has the potential to revolutionize how vessels are detected and identified at sea.
SAR is a standard technology for imaging targets in maritime environments, such as warships. However, traditional SAR systems typically require human interpretation of images. By integrating AI, Lockheed Martin aims to unlock the full potential of SAR, enabling faster, more accurate, and automated image analysis. This allows for quick differentiation between combatant and civilian vessels without the need for manual review.
During a recent flight test on the west coast of the United States, Lockheed Martin engineering teams successfully demonstrated the technology. The AI-powered SAR with embedded sensor control autonomy automatically recognized targets.
John Clark, senior vice president of technology and strategic innovation at Lockheed Martin, said, “This is a major leap for harnessing AI to help enhance situational awareness and decision-making capabilities, with unparalleled threat identification across extended ranges and all-weather conditions.”
He added that the company is committed to further advancing this capability, including integrating data from multiple sensors to create more accurate insights and assist warfighters in maritime operations.
The development was a collaborative effort by the Lockheed Martin AI Center (LAIC), Skunk Works®, and the Rotary Mission Systems (RMS) team. This achievement marks a notable improvement in situational awareness for maritime target recognition.
In the demonstration, the SAR Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) capability, which is enabled by Machine Learning Operations (MLOps) tools for rapid retraining, successfully classified targets of interest in near real-time. The SAR ATR was also coupled with autonomous sensor control, allowing the radar to re-task itself in real time based on target detections. This capability was deployed on low Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) hardware in the field, utilizing rapid edge processing without the need for extensive cloud computing or ground stations.
Lockheed Martin plans to continue testing the AI-powered SAR ATR throughout the year. Data collected during these flight tests will be used to further develop and mature various Lockheed Martin autonomous systems, including collaborative combat aircraft and family of systems applications.
