Project Overmatch is a high priority Department of the Navy initiative to deliver a more lethal, better-connected fleet of the future by connecting manned and unmanned platforms, weapons and sensors together in a robust Naval Operational Architecture that integrates with Joint All-Domain Command and Control for enhanced Distributed Maritime Operations.

Critical to Project Overmatch is the development of networks, infrastructure, data architecture, tools and analytics that support the operational and developmental environment that will enable sustained maritime dominance for years to come.  

To deliver this modernized network, the AINetANTX challenge aims to identify and leverage the latest in AI-enabled technologies to allow warfighters to make critical decisions quickly in operationally relevant maritime environments.

The challenge is offering $100,000 in total cash prizes for the best solution presented, with the first place entry winning $75,000, and second place winning $25,000.

When it comes to the future of AI, the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence Final Report issued in March 2021 year contends, “The best human operator cannot defend against multiple machines making thousands of maneuvers per second potentially moving at hypersonic speeds and orchestrated by AI across domains. Humans cannot be everywhere at once, but software can.”

Echoing similar sentiments Charles Yetman, Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific Data Science and Analytics senior scientific technical manager and Overmatch AI lead stated, “Rapid development, adoption and fielding of artificial intelligence capabilities will be a critical enabler to compete, deter, and, if necessary, fight and win in future conflicts against a peer adversary. I am excited to see what novel AI-enabled technologies that our industry, academia and Department of Defense (DoD) partners bring to bear during this Prize Challenge.”

Selected challenge participants will be invited to demonstrate candidate technologies in the Overmatch Software Armory (OSA), a cloud-enabled digital environment using industry-standard development, security and operation (DevSecOps) principles aimed at bringing the rapid delivery of software capability to the fleet. The OSA will provide participants virtual desktop infrastructure access to a secure, government-owned commercial cloud service provider with training-quality data sets.

“Industry partners will get access to the OSA to build artificial intelligence solutions using real training data sets and commercially available artificial intelligence and machine learning tools,” said Delores Washburn, NIWC Pacific chief engineer and Overmatch infrastructure lead. “Industry engagement like this accelerates capability delivery because by being in the OSA this lowers the barrier of entry to get capability rapidly fielded to the fleet”.

In order to gain access to the OSA and pertinent data sets, all participants must have, or be able to obtain, a DoD Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) / Common Access Card (CAC).

The challenge is open to all U.S. citizens and those with permanent residence status. Each individual participant, team of participants, commercial, government or academic entity may submit one entry. All entries must include a white paper and corresponding quad chart and be submitted no later than July 27, in accordance with the submission guidelines. Winners are expected to be announced in November 2021.

To learn more about the AINetANTX, including rules, criteria and eligibility requirements, visit https://www.challenge.gov/challenge/networks-advanced-naval-technology-exercise-ainetantx-artificial-intelligence-prize-challenge/.

For questions regarding the challenge, contact AINetAntx@niwc.navy.mil.

About NAVWAR:

NAVWAR identifies, develops, delivers and sustains information warfighting capabilities and services that enable naval, joint, coalition and other national missions operating in warfighting domains from seabed to space and through cyberspace. NAVWAR consists of more than 11,000 civilian, active duty and reserve professionals located around the world.