Information is now seen as a weapon of war in its own right due to recent technological breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI), high-speed computing and secure network technologies, all of which are now shaping weapons development and operational planning.

The Army’s Project Convergence “learning campaign,” for example, used AI-based computing to organize, analyze, and distribute otherwise unmanageable amounts of networked sensor data across multiple domains in seconds. . This process, which is now evolving to incorporate other US military services and even international partners, reduces the time between sensor and shooter from minutes to seconds. For example, commanders moving towards hostile forces in a combined arms maneuver formation can receive near real-time threat and targeting information to quickly launch necessary counterattacks and defenses. Additionally, incoming information is curated in seconds by Firestorm, an AI-enabled computer that performs analysis on data from drones, planes, ground troops, and even armored vehicles. A synergized view of the battlefield is presented to human decision makers, offering them specific recommendations regarding which weapon or method of counterattack would be optimal for a particular threat scenario.

Leading Army weapons developers involved in Project Convergence tell the national interest that the data itself is rapidly becoming a “weapon of war”.

“Now I fully understand the importance of data going forward and giving our soldiers weapons, like AI algorithms to find targets in all that data. And then create pathways so they can streamlining that call for fire to the right of the platform,” said Maj. Gen. John Rafferty, director of the cross-functional long-range marksmanship team at Army Futures Command. national interest in an interview.

During Project Convergence 2020, mini-drones operating forward were able to find enemy targets in high-risk areas while manned platforms operated at safer standoff distances. These mini-drones, called “air-launched effects,” collected time-critical data and then helped network it to reach larger drones, ground-based soldiers, and command and control technologies. AI-enhanced control. By bouncing incoming sensor data across a large, seemingly limitless database and considering multiple variables against each other, AI-enabled algorithms can analyze previous scenarios, weapon performance, and variables. key attack factors such as weather, range, terrain, or enemy maneuvers. . These real-time analyzes can find and communicate optimal courses of action for human commanders and decision-makers when faced with an immediate need to respond to enemy attacks.

Kris Osborn is the Defense Editor for the National Interest. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly trained expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army – Acquisition, Logistics and Technology. Osborn also worked as an on-air military anchor and specialist on national television networks. He has appeared as a guest military pundit on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also holds an MA in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.

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