Work on the Joint Common Foundation will begin this month

The US Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded Deloitte Consulting a $106 million contract to build an AI development platform for the Pentagon’s artificial intelligence hub.

In a move that DoD leadership says will be “integral” to developing, testing and fielding AI capabilities, Deloitte will design and build the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center’s (JAIC) Joint Common Foundation (JCF), with work scheduled to start this month.

According to the JAIC, Deloitte will operate as the lead system integrator of all contractor service solutions for the JCF. The company will provide, operate, maintain, secure and enhance the JCF with platforms and tools that can be shared and distributed to end-users across the DoD enterprise.

Expanding capabilities

“The impact of the JCF will come from enterprise‐wide access to AI tools and data for AI developers across the Department and its partners that will help synchronize AI projects, reduce development redundancy and enable the broad deployment of AI-enabled solutions to the tactical edge where front line operators can benefit from these capabilities,” explained JAIC spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Arlo Abrahamson, who added that the contract has a one-year base period worth $31 million with three option years through August 2024.

The project is the latest in a line of AI initiatives by the DoD. Since its inception in 2018, the JAIC has given particular focus to predictive maintenance and disaster relief work, and this year began work on its joint warfighting initiative.

In May, the JAIC awarded Booz Allen Hamilton a contract worth approximately $800 million for work in this area. For the center, Abrahamson said, “the end state is an AI development environment that will accelerate the testing, validation and fielding of AI capabilities across the US military.”