Our vision is to establish a globally recognized hub of excellence in autonomous systems research, where interdisciplinary collaboration catalyzes breakthroughs in technology, contributes to societal well-being, and shapes the future of autonomous applications

‘Tactical Autonomy’ is defined as autonomous systems acting with delegated and bounded authority of humans in support of tactical, short-term actions associated with a longer-term strategic vision.Our focus is on integrating applied research and development for new and existing DoD capabilities and producing a diverse workforce in tactical autonomy for the US Department of Defense.

The mission of the Research Institute For Tactical Autonomy is to develop partnerships between academia, government, and industry to solve real-world tactical autonomy challenges and problems that are critical to our national security through systematic research and development

We aim to pioneer transformative research and innovations in autonomy that bridge theoretical exploration with practical applications, thereby driving progress in technology, security, and sustainable development.

Establish essential research and development capabilities for the Department of defense to deliver operationally relevant autonomy by catalyzing community growth involving AI and autonomy research organizations.

Accelerate RITA research and development by rapidly transferring its research to seed a unique science, research, and development ecosystem of small and large businesses, academia, and the Department of Defense.

Transform AI and Autonomy practice throughout the government by creating innovative techniques, technologies, models, and tools that address critical challenges to meet mission outcomes.

Grow and diversify the available pool of scientists and engineers to support the Defense Department and establish a source of organic technical and operational excellence.

The objective of the Tactical Autonomy program is to develop and demonstrate autonomous technologies that will enable various AF / USSF and Department of Defense (DOD) mission sets, with minimal supervision from human operators in environments that are complex and unpredictable with applications in Air, Space, Cyberspace, Ground and Sea.

Some areas of particular interest with respect to tactical autonomy and autonomous systems are:

- Enhance multi-domain situational awareness.
- Reduce cognitive workload.
- Enable force protection.
- Support cyber defense.
- Augment logistics.
- Automate maneuverability and mobility.