Honeywell Aerospace and Shield AI have signed a memorandum of understanding focused on developing a trusted autonomy software stack for defense and potential commercial aviation applications.
Under the agreement, Honeywell Aerospace will develop the software stack using Shield AI’s Hivemind Software Development Kit. The work will integrate Honeywell Aerospace’s Anthem™ avionics, navigation and sensing portfolio with Shield AI’s mission autonomy technology.
The collaboration is intended to help defense operators move autonomous aircraft systems from demonstration to operational deployment across a broader range of environments without having to rebuild confidence in each new system.
Honeywell Aerospace and Shield AI will also explore the architecture required to introduce trusted, AI-piloted autonomy into commercial aviation and other transportation applications. Shield AI will separately assess the potential use of Honeywell Aerospace’s high-integrity, safety-critical products on its own uncrewed aircraft platforms.
The companies said the collaboration is intended to address a central challenge in mission autonomy: ensuring that aircraft capable of autonomous flight can also be certified and trusted to operate without direct human control.
Regulators, defense customers and commercial operators require confidence in the underlying systems before autonomous aircraft can be deployed. The agreement brings together Honeywell Aerospace’s experience in certified avionics, navigation and sensing systems with Shield AI’s Hivemind mission autonomy software.
Matt Milas, president, Defense & Space, Honeywell Aerospace, commented, “Autonomy software can fly an aircraft, but trust has to be engineered into the architecture, not bolted on after. Our role is to build the certified, design-assured foundation that lets a warfighter, a regulator and a fleet operator all trust the same platform. That’s the layer we bring to this collaboration, the one that turns intelligence like Hivemind into something that can be deployed safely and at scale anywhere in the world.”
Gary Steele, CEO, Shield AI, added, “Honeywell Aerospace’s certified avionics, navigation, and sensing systems paired with Hivemind, which delivers mission autonomy for intelligent, collaborative operations, create a trusted foundation for AI-piloted flight. This collaboration reflects how the aerospace and defense ecosystem is evolving, bringing the best of autonomy and certified hardware to address transportation and national security challenges.”
As part of the collaboration, the companies will evaluate joint pursuits of defense unmanned aerial system programs worldwide. They will also explore how Honeywell Aerospace’s certified systems could extend Hivemind’s reach in the United States and international markets, including among allied nations seeking domestic autonomy capabilities.
