US defense technology company Shield AI and Australia’s Innovaero Technologies have entered into a memorandum of understanding to strengthen the Australian Defence Force’s strike capabilities through autonomous loitering munitions. Under the arrangement, Shield AI will integrate its Hivemind autonomy software with Innovaero’s Australian-designed One-Way Loitering (OWL) family of precision weapons.Hivemind has already been installed on Innovaero’s OWL-B ahead of planned flight testing. The software is being used to model coordinated multi-agent strike missions in dynamic environments, with operators managing the missions through the Android Team Awareness Kit tactical interface.Shield AI describes Hivemind as a platform-independent digital “brain” capable of dynamically changing mission routes, avoiding obstacles, responding to unexpected events and carrying out complex tasks. The system is designed to maintain autonomous operations when communications are denied, degraded, intermittent or otherwise limited.Hivemind has previously been integrated or tested on platforms including Airbus’ H145 helicopter, Northrop Grumman’s Talon IQ modular testbed, the US Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft and the US Navy’s BQM-177A target drone. Its integration with Destinus’ Hornet loitering munition also involved Australian teams supporting flight trials in Spain. Shield AI has additionally demonstrated the autonomy technology on maritime and orbital platforms.
