The 18-month contract will see Slingshot contribute to the Space Force’s Operational Test and Training Infrastructure (OTTI) program, integrating artificial intelligence into existing training systems to better reflect the increasingly contested and dynamic nature of operations in orbit.
Under the agreement, Slingshot will deliver its TALOS artificial intelligence system – the Thinking Agent for Logical Operations and Strategy – to help create more realistic training scenarios, including adaptive and autonomous adversary behaviour. The company said the technology is designed to replicate how near-peer competitors are developing manoeuvrable, AI-enabled space capabilities that can change tactics in real time.
Slingshot chief executive Tim Solms said the contract represented a significant shift in how space forces prepare for potential conflict.
“This award marks a turning point in how the Space Force prepares for conflict in orbit,” Solms said. “TALOS allows Guardians to train against adaptive, AI-driven threats that behave like real adversaries, rather than pre-programmed scenarios.”
The Space Force’s Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM) has already conducted trials of TALOS, assessing its ability to act as a force multiplier during training. According to Space Force, the system enabled faster scenario development, larger and more complex simulations, and more realistic mission profiles by modelling machine-speed, adaptive threat behaviour.
STARCOM also worked with Slingshot to refine training scenarios and explore how artificial intelligence could be more deeply integrated into future exercises.
The contract was awarded through a commercial solutions opening and aligns with the Department of Defense’s broader Warfighting Acquisition System reforms. It builds on earlier Space Force and SpaceWERX investments, including a US$25 million Strategic Funding Increase contract awarded to Slingshot in 2022.
The OTTI program is expected to draw on contributions from a wider network of industry and government partners. Slingshot said TALOS is being designed to integrate with a range of existing training platforms, data sources and AI systems used across the Space Force, with an emphasis on interoperability and realism.
Solms said the company was focused on ensuring TALOS could operate within a broader training ecosystem rather than as a stand-alone capability.
“We’re working closely with other partners and government teams so the Space Force can incorporate new sensors, data systems and AI capabilities as they come online,” he said.
TALOS AI was launched in July and is described as an autonomous, AI-powered agent capable of imitating real-world satellite behaviour for training and simulation purposes. The system uses machine learning techniques to replicate spacecraft tactics within a constantly changing orbital environment.