Autonomous Electronic Warfare Integration for Unmanned Systems

L3Harris Technologies and Shield AI have demonstrated an integrated system combining electromagnetic spectrum battle management with autonomous mission software. The cooperation focuses on enabling unmanned systems to detect, assess, and respond to electronic threats in real time within modern electronic warfare environments.

Context of the Cooperation
Electronic warfare (EW) operations require rapid detection and response to radio-frequency (RF) signals across the electromagnetic spectrum. The increasing density of RF emitters in contested environments has made manual spectrum management difficult, particularly when multiple unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operate simultaneously.

To address this operational challenge, L3Harris Technologies and Shield AI collaborated to integrate battle-management infrastructure with autonomous mission software. L3Harris contributes spectrum-management and sensing technologies, while Shield AI provides autonomy software designed for unmanned platforms operating in contested environments.

The objective of the cooperation is to demonstrate how distributed sensing, AI-driven analysis, and autonomous decision-making can enable coordinated EW operations without continuous human control.

Technical Solution and Responsibilities
The integration combines L3Harris’ Distributed Spectrum Collaboration and Operations (DiSCO) electromagnetic battle-management ecosystem with Shield AI’s Hivemind mission-autonomy software.

DiSCO functions as a spectrum-management and coordination platform. It collects RF intelligence from multiple sensors and platforms, processes the data, and produces a fused operational picture of the electromagnetic environment. The system is designed to support distributed command and control across multiple assets.

Hivemind provides autonomous mission logic for unmanned systems. The software enables platforms to interpret sensor inputs, evaluate environmental conditions, and execute mission decisions such as route adjustments or electronic countermeasures.

Within the integrated architecture:

This architecture allows unmanned systems to coordinate actions across the electromagnetic spectrum with minimal operator input.

Deployment and Testing
The joint capability was validated through a hardware-in-the-loop simulation, a test method that combines real hardware with simulated operational environments. The scenario replicated contested RF conditions to evaluate system behavior during electronic warfare missions.

Hivemind-enabled platforms autonomously selected safe operating zones and executed tactical maneuvers.

The demonstration also incorporated the Green Wolf electronic warfare vehicle from L3Harris, which provides electronic attack and RF detection capabilities.

Both companies plan additional live flight tests involving real RF emitters and operational payloads to evaluate the system in field conditions.

Applications and Expected Impact
The integrated system targets defense applications requiring rapid spectrum awareness and coordinated unmanned operations, including:

By combining spectrum intelligence with autonomous mission execution, the approach supports faster decision cycles and improved coordination among unmanned platforms operating in complex RF environments.

Edited by an industrial journalist, Sucithra Mani — AI-powered.

www.l3harris.com