PERTH, Australia & SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Shield AI and Australia’s Innovaero Technologies (a BAE Systems Australia company) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to integrate Shield AI’s Hivemind mission autonomy software across Innovaero’s One-Way Loitering (OWL) family of precision strike munitions. The partnership delivers edge-AI mission planning, GPS/comms-degraded tactical navigation, and multi-agent swarming capabilities for sovereign deployment by the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
The Hivemind software architecture has already been integrated onto Innovaero’s flagship OWL-B platform in preparation for upcoming live flight testing. Teams are currently running dynamic, multi-agent coordinated strike simulations controlled via the Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK) tactical operator interface. Operating as an edge AI engine, Hivemind allows the OWL platform to dynamically reroute flight paths, avoid obstacles, and execute synchronized multi-drone strikes in contested electromagnetic environments where satellite navigation (GPS) and radio frequency datalinks are jammed or denied.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS: INNOVAERO OWL FAMILY & SHIELD AI HIVEMIND INTEGRATION
* System Classification: Sovereign Australian Autonomous One-Way Loitering Munition (OWL) Family
* Industrial Partners: Innovaero Technologies (Hardware / Integration) & Shield AI (Hivemind Mission Autonomy Software)
* Targeted Primary User: Australian Defence Force (ADF) & Allied Expeditionary Forces
* Mission Autonomy & C2 Architecture:
* Mission Autonomy Engine: Shield AI Hivemind (Edge AI pilot executing real-time tactical decision-making)
* Command & Control (C2) Interface: Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK) tactical software integration
* Operational EW Resilience: Fully autonomous operation under denied, degraded, intermittent, or limited (DDIL) GPS and communications conditions
* Swarming Capability: Multi-agent coordinated strike execution and dynamic target re-allocation
* Innovaero OWL Platform Variants:
* OWL-B: Medium-range, electric-powered flagship precision strike loitering munition (currently integrated with Hivemind and undergoing ASCA testing)
* OWL-X: Next-generation test demonstrator variant designed for high-speed counter-UAS and specialized ground-strike roles
