Scientific Systems Company, Inc., an industry leader in artificial intelligence and advanced autonomy for defense applications, announced today the addition of David “Heat” Lyons as Vice President of Business Development. As a former F-16 combat pilot and operational advisor to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Lyons brings deep experience with effectively utilizing advanced technology to the warfighter’s advantage. He will be responsible for managing SSCI’s growing list of customers and new markets.
Lyons has 30 years of experience in the defense and aerospace industry. He is a retired United States Air Force Colonel who commanded at the squadron, group, and installation level, in and out of combat. As an F-16 Fighter Pilot, Lyons is a graduate of the United States Air Force Weapons School and later returned as an instructor. In that capacity, he was recognized as a multi-domain integration expert and a Global Strike Subject Matter Expert. Lyons has served in staff assignments at the Headquarters Air Force, Sub-Unified Command, and the Joint Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation level at DARPA. Lyons was previously the Growth Lead at Spectrum Systems, Mercury Systems. He successfully launched a $200M product line by repurposing existing technology to meet a crucial government need across various services.
“The threats to the U.S. and its allies have never been more sophisticated or quickly evolving as they are today. The battlefield is awash in vast amounts of data that require rapid sense-making. Our enemies are employing dynamic tactics that require instant adaptation. And they are utilizing tactics that threaten traditional manned approaches,” said Scientific Systems President Kunal Mehra. “It is essential that we equip our warfighters with capabilities that are intelligent, operate at “machine speed” and do so in contested environments,” Mehra continued. “Over the past three decades, Scientific Systems has steadily developed capabilities in autonomy-at-the-edge, artificial intelligence, and machine learning that will equip our warfighters with the advantage they need. SSCI is delivering this next generation of capability today. Heat’s combat experience is a perfect fit to make sure we get our warfighters what they need.”
“Shrinking the time to transition technology from idea to warfighter combat capability is more critical today than ever before,” said Lyons. Speed in data management and Strategic, Operational, and Tactical decision-making will define who prevails in our nation’s future conflicts. During my time at DARPA, I had a chance to work with our nation’s top AI and Autonomy performers and I am convinced that Scientific Systems is the industry leader in Collaborative Mission Autonomy from the seafloor to air and space. It is an honor to join SSCI and I am excited for the opportunity to help fuse the company’s impressive advanced technologies into warfighter capabilities across all domains.”
Lyons was a National Defense Fellow at the Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He holds an M.A. in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College, an M.B.A. in Military Management from TUI University, and a B.S. in Mathematics from the United States Air Force Academy. Lyons was an Outstanding Graduate and Instructor at the USAF F-16 Weapons School and was awarded the 2009 Claire Lee Chennault Award as the United States Air Force’s Top Aerial Warfare Tactician.
About Scientific Systems Company, Inc.
Founded in 1990 and based in Woburn, MA, Scientific Systems Company Inc. (SSCI) invents disruptive technologies, develops revolutionary solutions, and builds trusted products for our customers’ most challenging missions. SSCI focuses on the creation of AI/ML-enabled capabilities to command, control, communicate with, and manage composable collections of intelligent agents, smart sensors, and autonomous platforms across all domains.
