RTX's Raytheon awarded Mentor Protégé agreements to develop operational AI

Raytheon, an RTX business, was awarded two strategic Mentor-Protégé Agreement initiatives from the Department of the Navy Office of Small Business Programs to support the development of operational Artificial Intelligence for Department of Defense platforms and programs.

Through joint sponsorship from NAVAIR and the Office of Naval Research, Raytheon will mentor Anacapa Micro Products, Inc. and Nara Logics, Inc. Under two individual three-year contracts, Raytheon will provide mentorship for operational AI on system design, software architecture, systems integration, IT security constraints and authority-to-operate requirements in a collaborative environment.

"The Mentor Protégé Program is an essential element of our overall supplier diversity small business strategy," says Colin Whelan, president of Advanced Technology at Raytheon. "Through this partnership, we'll leverage commercial innovations that can make meaningful contributions to our defense capabilities and ultimately, the success of our servicemen and women."

This collaboration is part of the DOD's Mentor-Protégé Program, which was established in 1990 and is the oldest continuously operating federal mentor-protégé program in existence. Raytheon has been an active participant in the program since 1991.

Together, the team of Raytheon, Anacapa, and Nara Logics will work to accelerate the development of next-generation autonomous capabilities to enhance the decision-making effectiveness of our servicemen and women.

"We're privileged to participate in this Mentor Protégé relationship that will enhance our joint technical abilities to deliver critical mission support functionality on emerging defense and intelligence platforms," says Jana Eggers, CEO of Nara Logics.

"Our organization is very proud to be a partner with Raytheon under this Mentor Protégé Agreement and we're looking forward to supporting the development, production and testing of next-generation AI to better serve the warfighter," says Ken Marks, CEO of Anacapa Micro Products.

Upon completion, Raytheon will possess an extremely robust technology roadmap aligned with emerging commercial technologies of industry leading small business capabilities.