The Air Force Research Laboratory awarded a $33.7 million definitive contract to RTX BBN Technologies, Inc. for APEX GEAR: DRIVE (Air Plan Environment for Execution, Gaming, Exploration, Assessment, and Refinement) data refinement, integration, and visualization enhancements to develop and transition software tools supporting air operations planning on July 24, 2025, under cost-plus-fixed-fee pricing with no set-aside.
Place of performance is Cambridge, Massachusetts. The contract runs through December 24, 2027. The originating solicitation emerged from the Fight Tonight Broad Agency Announcement, which sought to revolutionize air operations planning through an artificial intelligence-enabled interactive game engine for developing, rehearsing, and assessing combat plans. The initiative targets software tools and modeling capabilities for combat planning and operations assessment.
RTX BBN Technologies is a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies Corporation. Subcontractors include CACI, Inc. - Federal, Kestrel Institute, and Breakaway, LTD. CACI provides enterprise IT services and systems engineering; Kestrel Institute contributes formal methods and program synthesis research; Breakaway, LTD. delivers serious games and simulation technology. RTX BBN operates from Cambridge with extensive prior delivery on Air Force Research Laboratory research and development contracts, anchoring a portfolio concentrated in applied research, advanced development, and IT programming services across defense accounts.