Thread receives $1.2 million to develop perimeter security software for Grand Forks Air Force Base

Jan. 6—GRAND FORKS — Grand Forks technology company Thread, formerly known as Airtonomy, has received a $1.2 million award under the Air Force Small Business Innovation Research Program to develop unmanned aerial system software to enhance perimeter security at Grand Forks Air Force Base.

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., announced the award on Friday morning, Jan. 6. The award is being made by AFWERX, an arm of the Air Force Research Laboratory, to help ensure the base is protected against threats, intrusions and breaches.

With the award, Thread will develop software for the base to use drones to patrol its perimeter. At present, the 319 Security Forces Squadron at the base deploys teams to manually patrol a 13-mile perimeter, including in remote sections and during harsh weather conditions.

"If you just look outside right now, you see conditions to have people monitor that are challenging. So incorporating autonomous drones, meaning drones that servicemen and women can use with a minimal degree of training, is the key here to monitor that perimeter and understand if there are any challenges or problems related to that perimeter," said Joshua Riedy, CEO of Thread.

Until this project, Thread has primarily developed programming for the energy and utility industries.

"The ability to innovate, and doing so serving our nation's security interest in working with the Air Force base, has tremendous value to us as a company," said Riedy. "We've done most of our work in the energy and utility space, so this is a new market for us, but it's also a way to land the developments we've made to national security."

Hoeven, who serves on the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, worked to advance the project by securing funding for the Air Force Small Business Innovation Research Program in appropriations legislation and by meeting with Col. Nathan Diller, director of AFWERX, at the 2022 UAS Summit in Grand Forks.

"This project is all about enhancing the mission of the 319 Security Forces Squadron at the Grand Forks Air Force Base, improving the safety of their working conditions and streamlining their operations," Hoeven said in a press release. "By partnering AFWERX with Thread and utilizing this region's UAS expertise, we're working to ensure this critical base is secure against threats and can continue to support the unmanned ISR missions that our warfighters depend on."

The company rebranded from Airtonomy to Thread in October to better reflect the nature of its software, said Riedy. Thread's software is primarily used by customers in energy and utility markets for asset inspection.

"For customers like Xcel, (the word) 'thread' is the common denominator across their various asset types — wind turbines, solar panels, power lines, etc. — to create inspections as a digital representation of those assets, so that's why we chose that name," he said.