World View Selected as Exclusive High-Altitude Balloon Provider for UNITAS 2025
TUCSON, Ariz. (Nov 20 , 2025) World View, a leader in stratospheric intelligence and exploration, announced its selection and participation as the exclusive high-altitude balloon provider for UNITAS 2025, the world’s longest-running multinational maritime exercise. The 66th annual UNITAS exercise brought together naval, air, and ground forces from across the globe with a focus on the Western Hemisphere to strengthen partnerships and enhance collective maritime security.
In collaboration with SMX, Orb Aerospace, and BigBear.ai, World View demonstrated next-generation ISR capabilities by integrating persistent stratospheric platforms, advanced sensing, a resilient communications mesh network, and AI-driven analytics. The mission was executed in support of U.S. Navy South Command Fourth Fleet operations in the Atlantic Ocean in late September 2025.
World View’s Gryphon-class Stratollite carried payloads from Orb Aerospace and BigBear.ai. Operational support delivered a unified, real-time view of the battlespace to participating forces.
The company launched a Stratollite from its headquarters in Tucson, Arizona on September 3, 2025, ahead of operations beginning September 15, 2025, to demonstrate the system’s long-distance navigational and operational capabilities. It arrived precisely on schedule in the area of interest.
“This mission proved the power of integrated ISR and the value of public-private collaboration in defense innovation,” said Ryan Hartman, CEO of World View. “We’re proud to help deliver a true ‘Single Pane of Glass’ operational concept that enhances decision advantage, interoperability, and mission success.”
BigBear.ai supported the UNITAS 2025 demonstration by deploying its Arcas™ computer vision models at the tactical edge, and ConductorOS™ for AI orchestration, across participating hardware and sensors, enabling real-time data movement and model delivery to operators in the field.
“Our technology is transforming how analysts can access and apply AI in dynamic environments,” said Kevin McAleenan, Chief Executive Officer of BigBear.ai. “By combining computer vision at the edge with intelligent orchestration, we continue to build an AI platform that empowers faster, more informed decisions across the battlespace.”
The demonstration showcased how stratospheric platforms can complement satellite and UAV systems to deliver persistent maritime domain awareness in contested or remote environments. It aligns with DoD priorities around integrated deterrence, joint force readiness, and multi-domain operations.
World View’s participation in UNITAS 2025 reinforces its commitment to advancing American aerospace leadership and supporting global security through innovation and collaboration.
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About World View
World View is a next-generation intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) provider delivering integrated, multi-domain solutions across air, stratosphere, and space. By unifying tactical UAVs, high-altitude platforms, fixed-wing aircraft, and low-Earth orbit satellites under a single operational and technological framework, the company enables seamless data fusion and real-time decision-making. Leveraging advanced AI and machine learning, World View empowers defense, intelligence, and commercial customers to gain clarity, act with speed, and operate with confidence in complex environments. For more information, visit worldview.space.
About BigBear.ai
BigBear.ai is a leading provider of mission-ready AI solutions and services for defense, national security, and critical infrastructure. Customers and partners rely on BigBear.ai’s artificial intelligence and predictive analytics capabilities in highly complex, distributed, mission-based operating environments. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, BigBear.ai is a public company traded on the NYSE under the symbol BBAI. For more information, visit https://bigbear.ai and follow BigBear.ai on LinkedIn: @BigBear.ai and X: @BigBearai. To receive email communications from BigBear.ai, register here.
