DETROIT – KUBECON + CLOUDNATIVECON NA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Lockheed Martin and Red Hat today announced a collaboration to drive artificial intelligence (AI) innovation on Lockheed Martin military platforms. The acquisition of the newly announced Red Hat Device Edge will enable Lockheed Martin to support US national security missions by applying and standardizing AI technologies in geographically restricted environments.
Red Hat Device Edge offers an enterprise-ready and supported distribution of MicroShift, a lightweight Kubernetes orchestration solution based on the edge capabilities of Red Hat OpenShift, along with an edge-optimized operating system based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The latest product in Red Hat’s Edge portfolio enables an organization’s architecture to evolve as its workload strategy changes.
With Red Hat Device Edge, the companies are bringing advanced software to US military platforms like the Stalker unmanned aerial system (UAS) that was previously too large and complex for those systems. This advanced software enables small platforms to handle large AI workloads, increasing their capabilities in the field and driving faster, data-driven decision making.
In a recent demonstration, Lockheed Martin used Red Hat Device Edge on a Stalker UAS to demonstrate how AI-enhanced detection can power joint all-domain operations. The Stalker used onboard sensors and AI to adapt to a threat environment in real time.
The Stalker flew an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) mission to discover a simulated military target. Once the stalker spotted the target emitter, project engineers used Red Hat Device Edge to update the stalker’s software in flight. The new software – now managed on Red Hat Device Edge’s platform – enabled the Stalker to provide updated AI-based computer vision capabilities, also known as automated target detection capabilities. As a result, Stalker was able to more accurately classify the military target, provide more useful ISR data, and improve US military decision-makers’ situational awareness of the threat environment.
What’s next?
Lockheed Martin, Red Hat and other industry partners are enhancing 5G.MIL® capabilities with RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) functionality using Red Hat OpenShift, the industry-leading Kubernetes platform, to provide resilient communications for the Department of Defense.
Lockheed Martin is a major contributor to the MicroShift project and is working to expand the project’s edge capabilities for remote and inaccessible environments. As part of Lockheed Martin’s vision for 21st Century security to leverage the best commercial technologies for the defense industry, the company plans to continue innovating using Red Hat Device Edge and Edge Kubernetes capabilities for a broader range of applications across the board : land, sea, air, space and cyber.
Supporting Quotes
Justin Taylor, Vice President, Artificial Intelligence, Lockheed Martin
“With Red Hat Device Edge, Lockheed Martin is leading the way in bringing cutting-edge commercial technology into military capabilities that provide advanced solutions for our customers. Unlocking these AI technologies can help national security decision makers stay ahead of their opponents and enable a safer world.”
Francis Chow, Vice President and General Manager, Vehicle Operating System and Edge, Red Hat
“Lockheed Martin is at the forefront of global innovation that often defines a technological era. With Red Hat’s latest solution, Red Hat Device Edge, we can work together to change how communications and artificial intelligence look in the most spatially limited and remote environments, whether in remote mountain ranges or beyond the confines of the Earth’s atmosphere. ”
Additional Resources
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About Red Hat, Inc.
Red Hat is the global leader in enterprise open source software solutions, using a community-driven approach to deliver reliable and high-performing Linux, hybrid cloud, container and Kubernetes technologies. Red Hat helps customers integrate new and existing IT applications, develop cloud-native applications, standardize on our industry-leading operating system, and automate, secure, and manage complex environments. Award-winning support, training, and consulting services make Red Hat a trusted advisor to the Fortune 500. As a strategic partner to cloud providers, system integrators, application providers, customers, and open source communities, Red Hat can help organizations prepare for the digital future.
About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin Corporation is a global security and aerospace company employing approximately 114,000 people worldwide principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and maintenance of advanced… technology systems, products and services.
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