SCOTTSDALE, AZ (October 13, 2025) – Polaris Aero, a leader in aviation safety software, has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (OUSD) to develop Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities in the VOCUS Safety Intelligence Platform. These capabilities will improve the readiness and safety of military aviation by streamlining workflows, facilitating knowledge sharing, and providing actionable insights to military leaders at various levels. 

The SBIR program, which began in 1982, is the nation’s largest innovation program. It offers competitive awards to stimulate technological innovation among small private-sector businesses, while providing government agencies with new solutions that meet their diverse needs.

“We’re very privileged to have won a DoD SBIR award. What’s most exciting is that the new AI capabilities we develop for the military will benefit all our commercial VOCUS customers,” said Christopher Connor, Co-Founder and CEO of Polaris Aero.

About Polaris Aero

Polaris Aero is an aviation software company specializing in risk analysis and safety management systems (SMS). By transforming data into actionable insights, Polaris Aero helps organizations achieve the highest levels of organizational safety, operational effectiveness, and regulatory compliance. Polaris Aero is a Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. For more information, or to request a software demonstration, visit polarisaero.com.

About CDAO

The CDAO became operational in June 2022 and is dedicated to integrating and optimizing AI capabilities across the DoD. The office is responsible for accelerating the DoD’s adoption of data, analytics, and AI, enabling the Department’s digital infrastructure and policy adoption to deliver scalable AI-driven solutions for enterprise and joint use cases, safeguarding the nation against current and emerging threats. For more information, visit: ai.mil.