SAIC to assist DARPA with battlefield simulations

Science Applications International Corp. won a $42 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to work on a technology that enables military commanders to foresee the outcomes of plans through simulation.

The technology is being developed under the Deep Green Program. Work will be performed primarily in Orlando, Fla.

The Deep Green program seeks to develop a synergistic human/machine system to help military officers and their staffs quickly make command decisions and generate multiple options on the battlefield. The technology will also let commanders adjust plans as required.

The SAIC team will design, develop and integrate the system, including establishing warfighter computer interfaces and creating a common-futures graph. The company will also build a synthetic battle space engine that will understand inputs and use reason to predict multiple battlefield outcomes.

"The Deep Green program will significantly advance military planning technology to support the capabilities of the commander on the battlefield," Beverly Seay, SAIC senior vice president and business unit general manager, said in a news release.

SAIC, of San Diego, ranks No. 5 on Washington Technology's 2008 Top 100 list of the largest federal government prime contractors.