Cyber research and development organisation Consunet announced today the completion of DUST, its Next Generation Technologies Fund (NGTF) project commenced in 2019 through Trusted Autonomous Systems.
The technology will be incorporated into capability projects for the Australian Defence Force, with Consunet working with Lockheed Martin Australia to incorporate DUST spectrum management into the proposed Joint Air Battle Management System for Air 6500. Components of the DUST technology are already being applied to JP9321 Electromagnetic Battle Management, providing a basis to enable spectrum operations in the ADF.
Distributed Autonomous Spectrum Management (DUST) uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to dynamically plan and allocate spectrum usage to achieve optimised spectrum utilisation in congested, contested and complex environments, Consunet explains. This technology has applications in terrestrial and satellite communications and manoeuvrability and was produced in a collaboration between Consunet, Defence Science and Technology Group, The University of Sydney and RMIT University.
Lockheed Martin Australia’s Air 6500-1 Engineering Technical Lead, Mark Elbrow said, “Consunet has worked with Lockheed Martin Australia for over three years and bring a wealth of Australian developed AI and cyber security spectrum management expertise to Defence’s Joint Air Battle Management System - Air 6500-1 program.”
“Lockheed Martin Australia was aware of Consunet’s reputation with respect to research capabilities and activities in the spectrum domain and looked to leverage their efforts in supporting risk reduction activities associated with Air 6500 including spectrum awareness tools, electromagnetic spectrum modelling and projections, simulation, terrain mapping and other high-end software ‘plug-ins’. Due to Consunet’s contemporary tooling and software patterns, rapid integration into Lockheed Martin Australia’s proposed open systems architecture for Air 6500-1 was achieved, enhancing the outcomes for our customer.”
Consunet’s Chief Engineer, Shane Reschke said, “As this collaborative project shows, effective transition of DUST research and development successes into the EMBM capability fast-tracks capability delivery for Defence. The DUST technology transferred so far has been well received, and our development team looks forward to further integration of advanced DUST components to drive spectrum operations efficiency.”