BigBear.ai and SMX Bring Operational AI to UNITAS 2025
BigBear.ai will deploy AI and orchestration tech with U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and the U.S. 4th Fleet during UNITAS 2025. The goal is straightforward: tighten coordination, speed decisions, and sharpen threat detection across multinational maritime operations.
UNITAS will run Sept. 15-Oct. 6, bringing together about 8,000 personnel from 26 allied and partner nations. Over 250 participants from 20+ countries and every branch of the U.S. military are slated to join key events within the exercise.
For operations leaders, this is a live test of AI-enabled command and control under real constraints: joint forces, contested environments, and bandwidth limits. The outcome to watch is whether AI reduces decision latency and improves mission readiness at scale.
What's Being Fielded
- Common Operating Picture (COP): Unified situational awareness across manned, unmanned, and hybrid fleet operations.
- Arcas: Computer vision, pattern-of-life analysis, and risk forecasting to spot trafficking, arms smuggling, and narcotics activity.
- ConductorOS: Deployment, training, and updates for AI models in low-bandwidth, contested environments to keep models current in the field.
- Orchestration with SMX: Data flows and workflows aligned across joint and coalition participants.
Operational Impact to Track
- Decision cycle time: sensor-to-shooter and alert-to-action intervals
- COP freshness: latency and data completeness across all echelons
- False positives/negatives on detections (CV and analytics)
- UxS tasking success rate and re-task time
- Bandwidth utilization and model update success in denied/limited comms
- Watchstander workload: alert volume, triage time, and handoff quality
- Coalition interoperability: data standards, access controls, and audit trails
Why This Matters for UNITAS
Maritime interdiction problems are time-sensitive and data-heavy. Bringing AI into the loop can compress the find-fix-finish cycle and reduce blind spots across a large operating area.
UNITAS is the right venue to pressure-test this at scale-multiple nations, mixed platforms, and real operational friction. Success here builds confidence for broader multinational deployment.
Government Relationships and Scale
BigBear.ai's continued work with the U.S. Navy and allied forces signals trust and execution under mission constraints. This effort strengthens its position for future multinational projects and longer-term sustainment.
Beyond UNITAS, the company highlights diversification through efforts like an AI collaboration with the UAE and a cargo security solution in Panama with Narval Holdings-reducing reliance on a few large U.S. contracts.
Market Signal
Following the news, BigBear.ai shares rose 12.9% in the prior trading session. Over the past three months, the stock is up 62.6%, while the Zacks Computers - IT Services industry fell 8.4% in the same period.
Peer Snapshot (Zacks Ranks)
- BigBear.ai (BBAI): Rank #3 (Hold)
- TaskUs (TASK): Rank #1 (Strong Buy); trailing four-quarter earnings surprise 13%; 2025 sales/EPS growth estimates: 17.8% / 16.3%
- Vertiv (VRT): Rank #1; trailing four-quarter earnings surprise 10.7%; 2025 sales/EPS growth estimates: 24.5% / 34%
- Draganfly (DPRO): Rank #2 (Buy); trailing four-quarter earnings surprise 2.5%; 2025 sales/EPS growth estimates: 20.1% / 52.7%
Implementation Checklist for Ops Leads
- Define mission KPIs: detection-to-decision time, COP latency targets, and alert quality thresholds
- Inventory data sources: ISR feeds, maritime sensors, intel databases, and coalition access rules
- Set SOPs for AI alerts: triage, escalation paths, human-on-the-loop checkpoints
- Plan bandwidth: prioritize streams, compress where possible, schedule model updates off-peak
- Integrate with UxS tasking: clear API pathways and fallback procedures
- Red-team the analytics: adversarial patterns, spoofing, and degraded-sensor scenarios
- Train watchstanders: short drills on alert interpretation, false alarm handling, and handoffs
- Post-mission review: measure KPI deltas, refine data policies, and lock in quick wins
Key Dates and References
- Exercise window: Sept. 15-Oct. 6 (UNITAS 2025)
- U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command / U.S. 4th Fleet
- About UNITAS
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