In June 2025, Air & Space Forces Magazine reporter Shaun Waterman examined why Booz Allen Hamilton is looking to Formula One racing to gain a combat edge for autonomous military vehicles. Booz Allen is partnering with NVIDIA to help Code19 develop autonomous Formula One race cars, and the article makes the case that the Air Force and the other services stand to benefit.

Autonomy at the speed of war

Self-driving taxis and small drones mostly operate at modest speeds. Combat doesn’t. Speaking at the AI+ Expo in Washington, D.C., Booz Allen CTO Bill Vass said autonomy at speed is very hard, and that on the battlefield you have to move fast. NVIDIA’s Eric Breckenfeld noted that the speed, vibration, and temperature extremes of racing sit outside what mainstream automakers design for. Commercial self-driving companies have little reason to test at 150 mph.

Why racing makes a strong proving ground

The article points to what racing and military operations have in common: low-volume, highly customized systems, customers who prioritize performance over cost, and a culture where failure is not an option. Because racing isn’t a national security program, the teams involved can also draw on a wider pool of talent and suppliers.

Code19 co-founder and CEO Lawrence Walter explained that motorsport has long been a testing ground for automotive hardware, and racing is now doing the same for autonomy software. “In competitive teams, where you’re racing against the best in the world, every ounce of performance matters,” Walter said.

Walter also noted that all the sensors and data on a race car haven’t yet let a computer beat a skilled human driver, and that the mathematically optimal racing line isn’t always what gets an expert around a track fastest. That’s why Code19 uses human performance as the baseline for its AI development.

From the track to the mission

That race-proven approach now drives Code19’s defense work. Maveric AI brings the same high-dynamic prediction and control to counter-UAS intercept and other platforms that have to perform at the edge, and Maveric Interceptor has since been designated Award-Ready through the Army’s DevX Autonomy marketplace.

About Code19 Autonomy

Code19 Autonomy is a veteran-founded, venture-backed company with heritage in professional autonomous racing. The company develops high-dynamic autonomy software for defense platforms. Its Maveric AI technology delivers predictive, adaptive control to systems operating at speed in demanding, rapidly changing environments. Code19 also operates Code19 Racing, the world’s first professional autonomous racing team.