Ditto touts $950M Air Force contract

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Ditto, creators of next-generation software infrastructure that enables apps to synchronize data in real-time even without internet connectivity, today announced it was awarded a contract worth up to $950 million from the US Air Force, allowing Ditto’s Edge Platform to develop and power the USAF’s Advanced Battlefield Management System (ABMS). ABMS uses technology innovation to rapidly collect, analyze and share information and make decisions in real-time, and even in environments where there is no network connectivity, or the network has been jammed or degraded. ABMS is part of the Department of Defense’s Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) effort.

According to a statement from the USAF: “Ditto has been awarded a multiple-award indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the maturation, demonstration and proliferation of capability across platforms and domains, leveraging open systems design, modern software and algorithm development in order to enable Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2). This contract is part of a multiple award multi-level security effort to provide development and operation of systems as a unified force across all domains (air, land, sea, space, cyber, and electromagnetic spectrum) in an open architecture family of systems that enables capabilities via multiple integrated platforms.”

Ditto will incorporate its Intelligent Edge Platform into US Air Force systems, enabling real-time mission feedback loops and reducing processing time between system/mission data updates. For example, aircraft can be equipped with Ditto’s SDK which will allow aircraft configurations to build “Small Peer” and “Big Peer” networks. Effectively, each aircraft becomes a flying database that collects and transmits to other aircraft.

Ditto is a cross-platform peer-to-peer (P2P) database that allows apps to sync with and even without network connectivity. The Ditto Intelligent Edge Platform enables nearly any type of edge computing system to share data real-time in a mesh, and without a central server or hardware, processing information at the edge. This provides maximum flexibility to solve some of the toughest data communications challenges.

“The opportunity for Ditto’s technology to be used for the realization of the JADC2 strategy is significant,” said Adam Fish, co-founder and CEO of Ditto. “Not only does this contract with USAF signify the relevance and importance of Ditto’s technology for any industry or enterprise where real-time and seamless data sync is imperative, but it also is a timely opportunity for Ditto to directly impact the Department of Defense’s efforts against cyber warfare and other warfare against the US and its allies,” he said.

“Information dominance is critical for Air Force operations and is dependent on hardware and software resilient against interruption to ensure its accurate and timely delivery at the point-of-presence and time-of-demand of the warfighter and decision authorities. Simple-to-set-up real-time data sync across devices in a mesh with data connections already in the warfighter's arsenal can be a game changer for small tactical teams and operational awareness at all tiers,” said MSgt Ryan Connolly, 3 ASOS Superintendent of Special Warfare Support, USAF.

Ditto recently took part in the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center (JPMRC) Army exercise at Ft. Greely in Alaska where Ditto’s data sync was tested in the field with USAF Tactical Air Control Parties (TACPs). This real-world exercise similar to JADC2’s ABMS proved Ditto’s strength in applying its technology to critical military operations. Ditto demonstrated seamless secure real-time data sync from Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK) devices across Bluetooth, external mesh radios and a satellite link via an ATAK plugin. The ATAK app is an open-source application, with a civilian and military version, that provides geospatial information and allows user collaboration over geography.

Ditto recently secured $9 million in seed funding from True Ventures and Amity Ventures and works with enterprise customers across industries, including aviation point-of-sale, emergency work, retail, hospitality and entertainment, where seamless connectivity and real-time data sharing is essential. In addition to the US Air Force, Ditto’s customers include Japan Airlines, Etihad Airways and HugoApp.

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