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BlackSky has secured a US Air Force (USAF) contract to monitor the efficiency of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic mitigation efforts worldwide and track its impact on military readiness.
Under the contract awarded through AFWERX and the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), BlackSky will monitor US military bases outside the country.
Using its Spectra artificial intelligence and machine learning analytics platform, the company will help maintain force readiness and secure the supply chain.
With real-time global monitoring capabilities, the platform will track the spread of Covid-19.
This will ensure the protection of deployed personnel and secure critical nodes of the supply chain.
Using the company’s advanced image exploitation techniques, Spectra will automatically analyse anomalies. It will further monitor the applications of social distancing.
Once recorded, the measurements will be correlated against infection numbers reported by local governments.
The integration of data will accurately predict the risk of deployed USAF personnel and surrounding communities.
Monitoring of logistics depots, maintenance facilities, petroleum reserves, and airport facilities will help the recovery of defence industrial supply chain.
The platform will alert and notify any observed activity changes and anomalies.
BlackSky CEO Brian O’Toole said: “By combining global geospatial data sources with satellite remote sensing data, Spectra provides a near-real-time look at the evolving pandemic and provides critical insights to inform national security.”
“It is imperative to have transparency into the status of critical nodes of the supply chain for planning purposes. With BlackSky’s global monitoring capability, the US Air Force can maintain a watchful eye over its supply chain.
“Spectra will provide the airforce an easy to use outbreak monitoring and decision support tool. The platform will help us combat the spread of Covid-19, manage risk and ensure the protection of personnel around the globe.”
