U.S. Army researchers are developing an aided target recognition (AiTR) capability for small UAS, aiming to speed up squad-level target detection and boost lethality on the battlefield.
Currently, soldiers must manually monitor live drone feeds, scanning large, complex areas for threats, a task that can be time-consuming and fatiguing in dynamic environments.
The new approach, led by the Army’s Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center in partnership with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, integrates autonomy and threat detection directly into small UAS.
The system uses “Smart Search” behaviors to autonomously scan terrain, detect and track high-priority targets, and feed information back to Soldiers in real time.
“Soldiers will have greater lethality, survivability and maneuverability,” said Mathew Wilson, program lead at the C5ISR Center.
While AiTR has previously been focused on ground platforms, applying it to small organic Army drones represents a new direction in Department of Defense research. The aim is to reduce cognitive load, improve situational awareness, and enable faster, more accurate decisions without requiring constant manual drone control.
During Project Convergence Capstone 5 at Fort Irwin, California, forward observers used the system to search beyond line-of-sight for threats. Sgt. Brian Ward of 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, called it “a game changer,” adding that autonomous tracking could make it easier to prioritize and engage targets.
AiTR data is integrated into the Army’s existing Android Tactical Assault Kit and Nett Warrior devices, allowing autonomous UAS control without new hardware. In testing, the system autonomously launched, flew to target areas, and returned detections without further human input.
Although not yet fielded, officials say the technology could keep more Soldiers in the fight by turning vast amounts of drone sensor data into actionable intelligence.
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Post Image – 1st Armored Division experiments with an unmanned aerial system during Project Convergence Capstone 5 (Post Image Credit: U.S. Army)
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