NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORPORATION
Department of Defense · Contract
AI-Readiness Score
11/19
AI / ML Relevance
7/9
Problem Framing
4/5
Awardee Quality
0/5
Award
$3,718,738
Award amount
—
Award date
HR001118C0091
PIID
Awardee
356
Total awards
$25,623,901,495
Total $ won
1.9/19
Avg AI score
Description
THE OVERALL GOAL OF THE INTELLIGENT DESIGN OF ELECTRONIC ASSETS (IDEA) PROGRAM IS TO DEVELOP A FULLY AUTOMATED NO HUMAN IN THE LOOP CIRCUIT LAYOUT GENERATOR THAT ENABLES USERS WITH NO ELECTRONIC DESIGN EXPERTISE TO COMPLETE PHYSICAL DESIGN OF ELECTRONIC HARDWARE. THE IDEA LAYOUT PLATFORM WILL SUPPORT AUTOMATED PHYSICAL LAYOUT OF MULTIPLE TYPES OF ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS, INCLUDING ANALOG AND DIGITAL SOCS, SIPS, AND PCBS. IDEA WILL DEVELOP THE INFRASTRUCTURE, ALGORITHMS, METHODS AND SOFTWARE REQUIRED TO SUCCESSFULLY DEMONSTRATE NO HUMAN IN THE LOOP PHYSICAL LAYOUT, TRANSFORMING A COMPLETE DESIGN NETLIST INTO A MANUFACTURABLE LAYOUT DATABASE.
Score Rationale
The award explicitly names automated circuit layout generation and 'no human in the loop' design, which implies machine learning for design optimization and spatial reasoning — genuine AI/ML scope. However, the deliverable is primarily an automated engineering tool rather than a pure AI model; algorithms and infrastructure are mentioned alongside software, suggesting hybrid technical scope (7 rather than 8+). Problem framing identifies a real operational gap (non-experts completing electronic design) but lacks specificity on why DoD needs this now or what adversarial/operational context drives urgency (4/5). Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation is a large legacy prime contractor, not an AI-native startup, which signals traditional defense procurement despite AI-forward problem description (0/5).