Shares of Palladyne AI Corp. (NASDAQ:PDYN) rallied 13% on Wednesday after the company announced it had secured a contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to develop advanced swarming capabilities for multi-domain military operations.
The award relates to a program known as Hierarchical Adaptive Networked Game-Theoretic Integration of Multiple Echelons (HANGTIME). Under the contract, Palladyne will deploy its proprietary SwarmOS™ software to improve coordination and communication between autonomous systems operating across space, air, sea and land.
The project represents a notable step forward for the company, as it will incorporate satellite systems for the first time, extending Palladyne’s technology beyond ground-based and airborne platforms into orbit. By linking autonomous assets across domains, the system is designed to speed up decision-making and enable more synchronized mission execution in dynamic environments.
“The HANGTIME project is a breakthrough that unites high-altitude assets and situational unmanned systems into one coordinated sensor network—delivering a major advantage for the defense industry,” said Dr. Denis Garagic, Chief Technology Officer at Palladyne AI.
The contract targets a longstanding challenge for defense forces: enabling disparate autonomous platforms—such as drones, vessels and satellites—to operate as an integrated team rather than in isolation, improving responsiveness and situational awareness for warfighters.
Caleb Williams, Program Manager at AFRL/RIEA, described the initiative as “a critical step in multi-domain autonomy for coordinated execution in challenging environments.”
Palladyne AI develops artificial intelligence software for robotic and autonomous platforms serving both defense and commercial markets. Its SwarmOS platform functions as the defense-focused version of the company’s Palladyne™ Pilot embodied AI software suite.