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Army Data Researchers Reshape Soldier-AI Collaboration to Strengthen, Accelerate Battlefield Planning

Wednesday, July 29th, 2026

FORT IRWIN, Calif. — Army data scientists designed an experimental AI-powered platform that could transform the military decision-making planning process, to compress planning timelines from days or hours to seconds and to enable rapid, adaptable decision-making on the future battlefield.

As part of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, or DEVCOM, Army Research Laboratory, which is the Army’s sole fundamental laboratory, the Course Of Action Generative Pre-trained Transformer, or COA-GPT, is part of the U.S. Army’s largest experiment exercise at Project Convergence Capstone 6 at Fort Irwin, Calif., from July 17-29. The COA-GPT is a scientific platform designed to accelerate mission planning and provide an adaptable and decisive framework for planning, intelligence and command to solve critical human-AI integration challenges,

“By fusing generative AI with hard-won military expertise and doctrine, COA-GPT provides Army leaders and warfighters, the ability to generate and compare innovative workflow options,” said Dr. Amar Marathe, DEVCOM ARL COA-GPT program manager. “We are not replacing Soldiers with AI—we are arming them with it. COA-GPT integrates seamlessly into the workflow to make military planners faster, more efficient, and more effective.”

COA-GPT represents more than four years of partnership between ARL and the U.S. Army Futures and Concepts Command’s Command and Control Future Capability Directorate. The team uses regular Soldier-driven experiments to characterize planning-related Soldier-AI integration challenges and ensure that COA-GPT reflects the direct feedback of the Soldiers the testbed platform is designed to support.

According to Marathe, a major scientific hurdle is clearly communicating intent to machines across a distributed team of Soldiers and systems. Through an industry partnership with Hyssos Tech, COA-GPT uses an advanced graphic interface within the testbed, enabling leaders across multiple echelons to use intuitive methods, like drawing on a shared map, to better direct agentic AI to reduce miscommunication, cognitive load and friction across personnel.

“We built COA-GPT with a plug-and-play architecture, giving researchers the freedom to easily swap components and test new AI capabilities without having to rebuild the entire system,” Marathe said.

The next steps include refinement of the COA-GPT testbed through rigorous Soldier feedback and industry collaboration. Future efforts will explore how generative AI shifts the traditional responsibilities of Army planning staffs, which new cognitive competencies planners need to prioritize, and how to optimize workflows, ultimately helping the Army maintain a decisive advantage.

By DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory Public Affairs Office

Posted in AI / ML, Army, Guest Post | No Comments »

New Army Command and General Staff College Course Creates AI Sharpshooters

Sunday, July 26th, 2026

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — Before any Soldier steps up to a sniper hide or takes a precision shot, they must first know their weapon inside and out.

From day one of basic training, Soldiers are taught to field-strip their rifles, understand the mechanics of the bolt carrier group, and know exactly what to do when the weapon malfunctions.

It isn’t magic; it is simply a tool of the trade.

The U.S. Army Command and General Staff College’s newest AI Basics elective course is applying that same philosophy to Artificial Intelligence.

Day one of the new course started with a question: How many people know how their rifle works?

“AI is just another weapon system,” Instructor and Curriculum Developer Lt. Col. Timothy Williams said. “This class is going to teach you how AI works to that level – how it is built, how it is trained, what it is you’re actually interacting with when you interact with these platforms. We’re going to teach you how to use AI not just as a rifleman, but a sharpshooter.”

Early in the Command and General Staff School’s 2026 Command and General Staff Officer Course academic year, fellow AI elective Instructor and Curriculum Developer Lt. Col. Anthony Joyce and Williams observed students using AI in varying levels of expertise.

The 48-hour elective was created to provide structure and a kind of basic training for AI mechanics of Large Language Models, what tokens are, and how data is ingested, similar to understanding how gas operates the bolt in an M4.

The elective is a two-pillar design focusing on foundational understanding of AI and how to use the technology effectively and then using that knowledge to create agents to solve real-world Army problems.

“We teach any AI user level how to leverage AI to make tools rapidly for warfighting organizations. Service men and women know what their tools need to do, now they can make them themselves,” Joyce said.

A foundational understanding of how AI works is critical to enabling the officers to go beyond using technology to solve basic staff work problems, similar to basic training, Joyce said.

By demystifying the technology, the CGSC elective is transforming staff officers from basic users firing generic prompts downrange into digital marksmen capable of surgical, data-driven precision, he explained.

“If you know how to make slides, you know how to do so with any tool. The same is what we’re teaching here in this class,” he said. “If you can build agents leaving this class you will be able to build agents across all the joint force platforms and softwares.”

A total of 130 students took the new elective. Nearly two thirds of them had little to no experience using AI in an operational environment.

According to both Williams and Joyce, that is 130 Soldier developers who, at their next units, will be AI agent ambassadors, effectively dispersing the no-cost software creation skill across the force.

The population that took the first AI elective represented not only U.S Army students, but joint service members and international students from allied partner nations.

The large variety of knowledge bases, services and nations challenged Joyce and Williams to create a curriculum that was deliberate in its delivery.

“One of the most surprising things to me about this elective course was the diversity of military occupational specialties [signing up to take it]. Everything from chaplains, Medical Corps, MPs, to the more obvious MI and Signal,” he said. “However, no matter their starting point, they all achieved the overall learning objectives that will enable the entire Army, joint force, and partner forces: they all became Soldier Developers.”

For Zambia Army student, Lt. Col. Victor Simukonda, the AI elective course was another means of building interoperability. He noted AI is something militaries across the globe are learning and this course demonstrated a U.S. Army capability that could be transferred.

“It gives us [international students] a better view, and understanding of the differences in capabilities. But this also is an opportunity to bridge that gap,” Simukonda said. “It helps us all start thinking of applying this in a similar manner that can help us achieve better interoperability and be able to work as allies and partners.”

At the end of the course, Simukonda created Vanguard, a modular command intelligence system, intended to assist soldiers in understanding doctrine and military information.

In building the agent, Simukonda learned more than just how AI works, but its intended application, problem solving.

“My biggest takeaway was to stop looking at artificial intelligence as merely tools that we create, but [stet] look at them as in things that help us solve problems,” he said. “It’s changing the mindset from a tools sort of mindset to a problem mindset. Sort of asking ‘what kind of an AI am I creating?’. We were encouraged to think of what are the problems that we’re trying to solve, and that ties into the human aspect of this system, or these systems that we’re creating are meant to help solve human problems.”

Similarly, Maj. Andrew Fletcher, a civil affairs officer, came into the elective course with very little experience with AI, but the staff and faculty encouraged him to take advantage of the professional military education environment that allows for space for experimentation.

The course did more than teach foundational understanding of what AI is, Fletcher explained, it changed how he thought.

“Once you understand how AI thinks and how it makes use of information in order to get you the answers that you’re asking for, it completely changes your mental framework for how you view information,” he said. “Now when you receive data, instead of viewing it and categorizing it how you used to, you start to view it in a way that can be made use of by AI. And I think that mental shift was key.”

After graduation, Fletcher transitioned to the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion under the Special Forces Group, taking with him his AI agent that assists in a secondary effect of the Civil Affairs force modernization efforts.

Smaller, more mobile detachments are capturing critical data points at an increased rate, he explained, generating a need for the ability to analyze and share outcomes.

AI was the perfect, low-cost solution, that goes beyond civil affairs, Fletcher said.

“With some really basic instruction and just ‘how to’ on how to use some of the tools, I think Soldiers everywhere throughout the Army would be really surprised by how powerful their knowledge of their job, paired with very little technical expertise and what it’s able to produce, and the power and impact that they’re able to have on the force,” he said.

For Joyce and Williams that impact is the introduction of no-cost software solutions being created by the Soldiers who can easily identify the problems the solutions can solve.

“Innovation at the speed of war is what is going to win battles in the future and war in the future. And traditionally in the military, we had to rely on our defense industrial base, which are great partners to have, but we relied on them for absolutely everything software related at scale. We now necessarily don’t have to rely on them to solve small problems, and we could allocate our budget, time and effort to more complicated problems that they’re suited to solve,” Joyce explained.

AI is the future of warfare, according to Williams, making CGSC the ideal place for electives like this one to emerge, reform, and eventually be pushed across the force.

CGSC is a generating force, Joyce explained, educating the largest population of the Army’s field-grade officers.

“If we can train the field-grade officer to be a Soldier developer, we are the generating force for the Army of that capability, which goes out to the operational force, implements it, trains their subordinates and then creates the flywheel,” he said. “It’s reciprocal because now these captains that come here to CGSOC, they are further along in the pipeline of using AI technology than the existing cohorts are.”

The prediction of each future academic year’s students having more AI-related knowledge and skills has already encouraged curriculum adaptations.

Williams explained some of the initial lessons of the AI Basics Course will be integrated into the first Common Core lessons of the academic year, exposing students to AI even sooner in PME than before.

In addition, the future of the AI elective will expand to the students’ needs, he said, with the potential of evolving into a more advanced elective.

The number of CGSOC students leaving with AI proficiency and potentially agents to solve some of the Army’s most persistent problems will nearly triple next year, Joyce explained.

Students and instructors described their excitement to watch the lessons learned and agents applied at divisions and corps across the force.

“There’s this idea that the Army has over a million people in it, and if we put this capability in the hands of a million Soldiers, the Army can become the world’s largest software developer overnight. And that’s powerful to think about. The Army didn’t start with that role, but we have that capability now to generate that,” Joyce said.”

By Sarah Hauck, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College Public Affairs Office

Posted in AI / ML, Army, Guest Post, Profession of Arms, Training | No Comments »

XTEND Supports British Army During Major Autonomous Strike Exercise, Advancing UK Operational Drone Warfare Capabilities

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2026

Successful Completion of Ex RHINO BIZZ Builds on Historic UK Live-Fire Milestone with 2 PARA, Validates the British Army’s First Long-Range Autonomous Strike Missions with Live Kinetic Payloads

TAMPA, Fla. and SWINDON, U.K., July 16, 2026 — JFB Construction Holdings (Nasdaq: JFB) announced today that XTEND, a leader in software systems and artificial intelligence-powered robotics, successfully supported the British Army during Ex RHINO BIZZ, a major drone and electronic warfare exercise conducted at the British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS) in Alberta, Canada.

The exercise represents the latest milestone in XTEND’s expanding collaboration with the British Army following the historic live-fire demonstration conducted with the 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment (2 PARA) earlier this year, which marked the first live firing of an uncrewed aerial system by British forces in UK airspace.

Conducted across the 2,700-square-kilometer (1,042-square-mile) BATUS training area, Ex RHINO BIZZ brought together approximately 350 soldiers from 16 Air Assault Brigade to train in next-generation combat operations reflecting lessons emerging from modern conflicts. The exercise combined autonomous systems, electronic warfare, contested communications and human-machine teaming to replicate increasingly realistic battlefield conditions and reflects the British Army’s continued evolution toward software-defined autonomous operations.

“Modern warfare is undergoing one of its most significant transformations in generations,” said Aviv Shapira, Co-Founder and CEO of XTEND. “Military advantage will increasingly belong to forces capable of integrating software-defined autonomy into everyday operations. The successful operational employment of our systems during Ex RHINO BIZZ demonstrates how AI-powered autonomy is evolving from technology demonstrations into operational capability, enabling armed forces to execute increasingly complex missions while keeping soldiers further from harm.”

During Ex RHINO BIZZ, soldiers from 2 PARA employed XTEND’s SCORPIO 1000 autonomous strike systems in seek-and-strike missions across one of the world’s largest military training areas, operating under realistic battlefield conditions that included electronic warfare and GNSS-denied scenarios. XTEND deployed five SCORPIO 1000 systems, operated independently by 2 PARA’s UAS Platoon without XTEND operational support, demonstrating the unit’s ability to independently employ the capability in realistic operational conditions.

XTEND’s systems were the only autonomous platforms authorized to operate with live kinetic payloads during the exercise, enabling British forces to successfully validate autonomous strike missions designed to engage targets at distances of 3.6 kilometers (2.2 miles), 6.5 kilometers (4.0 miles) and 7.5 kilometers (4.7 miles). This represents the British Army’s first validation of long-range autonomous strike missions with live kinetic payloads.

This achievement further strengthens XTEND’s presence in the United Kingdom following the establishment of its sovereign UK XFAB manufacturing and support facility in Swindon. The facility provides localized manufacturing, engineering and lifecycle support for the United Kingdom and allied defense customers as demand for sovereign autonomous capabilities continues to grow.

“Our collaboration with the British Army has progressed from an initial proof-of-concept demonstration to independent operational employment by frontline soldiers,” said Ofer Shahaf, General Manager of XTEND UK. “Progressing to Ex RHINO BIZZ reflects the confidence built through close collaboration with British defense stakeholders and our commitment to supporting the long-term modernization of allied forces through sovereign autonomous capabilities.”

XTEND’s SCORPIO 1000 is powered by the company’s proprietary XTEND Operating System (XOS), an AI-driven autonomy platform that enables operators to execute complex missions with significantly reduced training requirements. The platform combines autonomous navigation, human-guided autonomy, resilient communications and mission-adaptable payload integration to support operations in complex and contested environments, allowing operators to maintain mission effectiveness in rapidly evolving battlefield conditions.

The successful completion of Ex RHINO BIZZ marks another milestone in XTEND’s long-term collaboration with the British Army and reinforces the Company’s position as a provider of operationally validated AI-powered autonomous systems supporting the modernization of allied defense forces.

Posted in AI / ML, Press Release | No Comments »

SOFWERX to Host 4th Psychological Operations Group (4 POG) Collaboration Event (CE)

Monday, July 20th, 2026

SOFWERX, in collaboration with USSOCOM 4th Psychological Operations Group (4 POG), will host a Collaboration Event (CE) 23-24 September 2026, to identify and select innovative software tools. The goal is to integrate these tools into a singular, comprehensive software solution to support information dissemination and influence activities.

To enhance operational effectiveness, there is an ongoing need for a unified software platform that can consolidate various influence and information-related tools. Currently, operators utilize a variety of tools to meet mission requirements. The vision is to develop a centralized, sustainable, and user-friendly suite of tools that provides a comprehensive set of capabilities. This initiative seeks to create a modern, integrated platform similar to those used in other specialized fields, tailored to the unique needs of the influence community.

The command’s aim is to establish an AI-enabled suite of tools that addresses the full spectrum of the operational workflow. This software solution will bring tools from different vendors into a single access point or dashboard, streamlining processes and enhancing overall capability.

U.S. Citizens Only

Request to Attend NLT 05 August 2026 11:59 PM ET.

See details here.

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Senior Leaders Chart Course for Future Force

Friday, July 17th, 2026

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFNS) —

More than 60 Air Force senior leaders gathered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, June 10-12, for the semiannual Corona summit, a strategic planning forum focused on policy development, force readiness and future force initiatives.

Formalized by Gen. Curtis LeMay in 1961, Coronas serve as a venue for the Air Force’s top echelon to foster collaboration and refine strategic decisions on an array of topics as diverse as training, deterrence and air warfare doctrine. This recent iteration provided a decision-making forum designed to build upon recent policy modifications and address key areas essential for maintaining a ready and capable future force.

“I have traveled to our installations worldwide, meeting face-to-face with the Airmen who execute our mission every day,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Ken Wilsbach. “They share their real, day-to-day challenges with me, and Corona is where we turn that feedback into strategic action – making decisions to dismantle barriers, modernize our capabilities, and build a better Air Force from the bottom up.”

The three-day summit provided a decision forum to build on recent policy changes and discuss key areas to ensure a ready and capable force for the future.

Joining the traditional cadre of Major Command commanders and Headquarters Air Force senior leaders were their respective Command Chief Master Sergeants, alongside a diverse group of general officers representing various operational and functional directorates.

The group agreed on a host of policies and changes, including those related to basic military training, the use of AI and protecting bases from drones and other threats.

BMT Next (Modernizing Basic Military Training)

To better prepare incoming personnel for the complexities of future conflicts, a comprehensive curriculum update will be implemented for BMT by 2027. Under this revitalized model, training will more closely align Airmen with the broader Air Force mission. The curriculum will heavily emphasize “Airmindedness,” military professionalism and the Air Force Core Values.

Pairing those three skills with the specialty training that follows, Airmen will arrive at their first duty stations equipped with the foundational skillsets essential for modern warriors.

Not only will what they learn change, the physical training environment will undergo a significant transformation, too. There are plans to construct a dedicated Air Force Training Range, which will serve as the centerpiece of the BMT compound. This facility is designed to orient the trainees’ mindset around the Air Force’s primary power projection platform: the air base.

Point Defense of Air Bases

Recognizing the evolving threat environment, the decision was made to establish Point Defense Flights at select Air Force installations. Initially, these specialized units will be composed of personnel drawn from multiple career fields.

Concurrently, a dedicated new Air Force Specialty Code is being developed to formalize and sustain this base defense capability.

Artificial Intelligence

To harness the strategic advantages of emerging technologies, Wilsbach announced forthcoming Headquarters Air Force-level guidance regarding AI integration. This initiative aims to institutionalize proven AI best practices currently utilized across the enterprise.

A primary objective includes developing programs that leverage AI to automate repetitive administrative tasks, thereby freeing up Airmen for mission-critical duties.

Emphasizing a forward-looking approach, the summit also highlighted the ongoing efforts of the Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force’s task force dedicated to AI innovation.

The Future of Guardian Angel & Tactical Air Control Party Weapon Systems

The Air Force will not combine its Guardian Angel (GA) and Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) weapon systems into a single unit. Each will retain its distinct identity and core, specialized competencies.

GA remains focused on personnel recovery, while TACP continues its role in precision strike, distributed command and control and integrating airpower with ground combat. The two may train together periodically to be interoperable in conflict, with MAJCOMs setting the training standards.

Building on TACP’s existing expertise in airpower integration, it was designated as the lead weapon system for One-Way Attack missions for employment by the Joint Forces Air Component Commander.

Leaders also moved to bring greater discipline to how the Air Force uses the term AFSPECWAR (Air Force Special Warfare) for the GA and TACP communities. Over recent years, the term has increasingly been used in an operational context, and the summit reaffirmed that AFSPECWAR is neither a mission nor a weapon system. It remains a term of enduring value for recruiting, accessions, initial skills training and the shared warrior ethos that unites communities of extraordinary Airmen.

To ensure clear command relationships, distinct capabilities, accurate authorities, preserved community identity and specificity in combat employment, the Air Force will use precise terms for specific weapon systems. This decision ensures operational clarity and honors the valor of the Airmen in the GA and TACP weapon systems.

Audit

In compliance with congressional directives, the enterprise-wide comprehensive financial audit continues. To ensure effective execution and accountability, Wilsbach directed all MAJCOM commanders to provide bi-monthly progress updates, emphasizing that audit readiness must remain at the forefront of their daily operational workflows.

In addition to the key decisions listed, other priorities were discussed at the forum to include readiness, both aircraft and personnel, along with streamlining enterprise-wide logistics-informed command and control (C2). Leaders focused on taking care of Airmen with talent management discussions, mission focused assignments and developmental opportunities.

Other operational discussions included a renewed focus on Camouflage, Concealment and Decoys, as well as the speed of information and the ability to make tactical adjustments in dynamic threat environments with a Digital Fires Report.

As the Air Force’s senior leaders gathered in Dayton to tackle the most complex challenges facing the force, the above decisions impact not only the 665,000 Airmen, but also allies, partners, industry and supportive local communities. Some of the initiatives are internal to the Air Force, while others are further reaching.

“This summit was a resounding success because we didn’t just talk about the future – we made concrete decisions to shape it,” Wilsbach said. “Whether we are modernizing our training, fortifying our defenses to guarantee readiness, or leveraging AI to return valuable time to our Airmen and their families, we are building a force postured to win.”

By TSgt William A. O’Brien

Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs

Posted in AFSW, AI / ML, Air Force, C-UAS, Guest Post | No Comments »

Nokia and NestAI build Capability for AI-Enabled Defense Operations with Resilient Connectivity in Denied Environments

Thursday, July 16th, 2026

Integrates AI, deployable 5G and sensing into a single defense capability

Accelerates sovereign European defense technologies for the next generation of military missions

9 July 2026, Espoo, Finland – Nokia Defense and NestAI, one of Europe’s fastest-growing AI labs for defense, are advancing their technology partnership with the first operational capabilities being developed under the collaboration established alongside Nokia’s and Tesi’s €100 million joint investment in NestAI in November 2025.

As European defense investment reaches its highest level in decades, defense forces are accelerating the integration of AI-enabled capabilities into their operations. A defining challenge is ensuring resilient, trusted connectivity in denied environments, where communications, sensing and mission-planning must work seamlessly together for AI-enabled operations to succeed in the field.

The partnership is delivering three integrated operational capabilities:

AI-enabled command-and-control on deployable 5G networks: bringing together Nokia’s deployable 5G networks with NestOS, NestAI’s adaptive operating system for modern battlefield operations, to help European forces maintain command and control, support autonomous systems and reduce reliance on fixed communications infrastructure.

Mission planning with assured connectivity: integrating Nokia’s radio-network planning models into NestOS mission-planning tools, enabling forces to assess, plan and adapt connectivity as part of the mission while reducing the risk of coverage gaps during fast-moving multidomain operations.

Earlier threat detection and response: combining Nokia’s Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC) early-detection capability with NestAI’s multi-sensor tracking to provide operators with earlier, wide-area threat awareness and support faster, more informed decision-making in, even in contested environments with limited connectivity.

These capabilities are built for the conditions modern forces now face: denied communications, active electronic attack and emerging drone threats that must be detected before dedicated sensors acquire a target. The partnership addresses all three with European-developed technologies built to NATO operational requirements.

“Defense is moving quickly to adopt AI-enabled capabilities, from mission planning to unmanned operations. But AI only works in the field when it has secure, resilient connectivity behind it. Together with NestAI, Nokia is accelerating the sovereign technologies NATO needs to operate, decide and act in the next generation of missions,” said Mikko Hautala, Chief Geopolitical & Government Relations Officer and Chairman, Nokia Defense.

“Most defense AI is built on assumptions about connectivity, sensor access, and infrastructure that do not hold in contested environments. What we are building with Nokia addresses the real conditions European forces face, from the network underneath to the threats at the edge, on technology that Europe develops and controls,” said Peter Sarlin, Founder and Executive Chairman, NestAI.

Nokia Defense provides secure, intelligent connectivity for defense in the AI era. Built on Nokia’s global leadership across fixed, mobile, and transport networks, it delivers resilient, mission-ready communications solutions that strengthen national security and support critical operations worldwide. For more information: www.nokia.com/defense-communications

Posted in Admin, AI / ML, Comms, International, Press Release | No Comments »

Army Researchers Modernize Breaching for Ground Platforms Through AI-Enabled Explosive Hazard Detection

Thursday, July 2nd, 2026

FORT BELVOIR, Va. (June 4, 2026) — To defeat adversaries’ explosive hazards on today’s battlefield, U.S. Army researchers are integrating the latest advances in artificial intelligence to deliver greater lethality and survivability to Soldiers.

With Soldiers facing increasingly sophisticated and complex threats, Army scientists and engineers are developing capabilities to enable persistent ground situational awareness for maximum force protection. The Army’s Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center leads the Ground-based Multi-Mission Payload project.

Breaching minefields has historically been one of the most dangerous tasks for troops. By automating the monotonous and fatiguing task of manual threat scanning, Soldiers can focus their attention on the broader tactical environment while easing the cognitive load. While unmanned aerial systems can cover wide areas, ground systems remain essential to detect threats aerial assets can’t see.

“Our S&T and technical expertise across core competencies including advanced sensing, intelligence, and command and control are delivering critical advantages for our Soldiers — situational awareness, enhanced operational speed, and safety,” said C5ISR Center Director Beth Ferry.

The GMMP proof-of-concept prototype includes a suite of hardware and AI-enabled software with advanced sensors, which have been outfitted onto a variety of ground vehicles and robotic platforms: a specially equipped military vehicle; a robot dog; and a Squad Multipurpose Equipment Transport, an unmanned, eight-wheeled heavy-duty robotic platform with instruments to complete multiple threat removal and complex mission sets, according to C5ISR Center physicist Kendall Johnson, the project’s technical lead.

An AI model detects, classifies, and reports explosive threats in real-time, integrating seamlessly into the Tactical Assault Kit ecosystem that populates a common operating picture for the entire team, both inside the vehicles and in the command post. Soldiers can identify hazards from a safe standoff distance, turning hours of manual scanning into a millisecond-fast automated process.

“The system incorporates a government-developed and -owned open AI architecture built by Army subject-matter experts,” Johnson said of the project’s plans for multi-algorithm support. “The Army can add the best algorithms from any source, at any time. The concept remains relevant into the future with the ability to incorporate new technologies as they emerge.”

C5ISR Center Countermine Ground to Ground Portfolio lead Dr. Amin Abbasi Baghbadorani said another project goal is transitioning from current counter-explosive systems that are often built with proprietary software and hardware while limited to a single purpose.

“GMMP is based on a modular concept to integrate commercial off-the-shelf hardware,” Abbasi Baghbadorani said. “Its open architecture is designed for rapid adaptation to new vehicles, sensors, and AI algorithms. The capabilities can be used with any platform and are easy to transition.”

Working with noncommissioned officers assigned to the Center is critical to providing Soldiers with the best tools for lethality and survivability, Johnson said.

“Feedback from NCOs has been incredible as we get feedback on-site,” Johnson said. “We’re able to make changes the same day and update the systems. It’s optimized the speed and pace of our project.”

Sgt. 1st Class Michael Havens, a C5ISR Center enlisted adviser, is working with the project’s scientists and engineers to bring his operational expertise as a network communication systems specialist into the technology development cycle.

“There’s an instant feedback loop,” Havens said. “What we do as enlisted Soldiers for C5ISR Center is they will give us their technology, show us how operate it, and run us through scenarios. We’ll tell them how to design the system to make it easier to use, more functional. Situational awareness is key. The more you have SA of the battlefield, the more you can devise a plan to execute, navigate, and negotiate.”

The GMMP team’s next steps are to mature the prototype into a cross-platform demonstrator with activities planned in additional climates and locations in the near future. It’s imperative the system performs across the wide range of conditions Soldiers face — extreme temperatures and humidity, sand, dust, foliage, snow, ice, and varying grass and soil types.

“The focus is adapting the system to more complex environments to prove its end-to-end capability,” Abbasi Baghbadorani said.

By Dan Lafontaine, DEVCOM C5ISR Center Public Affairs

Posted in AI / ML, Army, Breaching, Guest Post, Robotics | No Comments »

Space Force Integrates with Air Force in AI Sprint to Ensure Mission Dominance

Sunday, June 28th, 2026

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – To secure mission dominance in a future, contested environment, the Joint Force must make decisions faster than any adversary. This imperative was the driving force behind the Multi-Decision Advantage Sprint for Human-Machine Teaming, or MASH, a complex, two-week experiment recently hosted in Las Vegas.

Building on the successes of previous single-function Decision Advantage Sprints for Human-Machine Teaming experiments, the MASH marked a significant evolution by integrating an ensemble of artificial intelligence and automation software services from the first three DASH events. For the first time, U.S. Space Force Guardians joined Airmen to work side-by-side with software developers, evaluating how these disparate tools can effectively integrate to solve complex problems across the air, space, cyber, maritime, and ground domains.

“The Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control Campaign Plan demands that we make better, timelier decisions,” said U.S. Air Force Col. John Ohlund, Advanced Battle Management System Cross-Functional Team director. “By incorporating AI into our battle management architecture, we are ensuring our operators can rapidly process vast amounts of data and deliver lethal effects faster than ever before.”

Conducted within a dedicated Shadow Operations Center-Nellis facility in Las Vegas, the MASH experiment set the stage for this strategic collaboration, led by the Department of the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System Cross-Functional Team. The experiment was executed in partnership with the Air Force Research Lab, U.S. Space Force, and the 805th Combat Training Squadron, also known as the ShOC-N, further reinforcing the collaborative effort required to deliver decisive combat power for the Joint Force. Furthermore, four allied nations observed the experiment, gaining insights into the U.S. approach to integrated architectures and setting the foundation for future interoperability.

Space Force Integration: A Critical Milestone

A defining feature of the multi-decision sprint was the active participation of Space Force Guardians. Moving beyond observational roles, Guardians were “in the seat,” directly influencing the development of battle management tools that encompass the space domain.

“Working with Air Force battle managers opened my eyes to how the air domain tackles these challenges. Their focus on tempo, synchronization, and rapid Courses of Action iteration mirrors what Space Force needs, especially when dealing with contested electromagnetic environments,” said U.S. Space Force 1st Lt. Abby Warner, 16th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron deputy flight commander. “Turns out our decision-making headaches are similar across domains, and Transformational Model-based services adapt quickly to space ops.”

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Corey Ellsworth, ABMS Cross-Functional Team integration lead, agreed.

“There are parallels to decision advantage requirements between the air and space domains, especially during major combat operations where all domains are contested,” Ellsworth said.

He noted that the next step for the DAF’s solution to battle management is to continue integrating with each service’s modernization approach to data and decision-making. The battle management software solutions tested at the MASH are “directly translatable” to Navy, Marine Corps, and Army partners, emphasizing that this collaboration is the next pivotal step in providing “combat multi-domain power” for the “Total Joint Force.”

U.S. Space Force Col. Teina Stallings-Lilly, ABMS Cross-Functional Team deputy director for space operations integration, emphasized the long-term impact of this integration.

“As the operations integrator between the services, my goal is to bridge the gap between our domains,” Stallings-Lilly said. “By having our Guardians in the seat for this experiment, they are seeing the direct applicability of these AI tools and, in turn, are providing the expertise needed to build a truly integrated DAF Battle Network.”

Stallings-Lilly explained that the DAF is moving beyond simple decision support systems to field capabilities that process information at machine speeds. This sprint, she noted, is fundamentally about building a human-machine team that ensures operators can think faster and stay decisively ahead of any adversary.

The need for deep, cross-service integration extends far beyond the air and space domains, shaping the future of command and control.

“The reason we challenge the software to solve multi-domain problems is because that’s the reality of the future fight,” said Ohlund. “An Air Force air battle manager doesn’t have the authority to execute a space or cyber effect, but like any good staff officer, it’s their job to prepare the information and package the options for the general. We want the computers to do that work, to ruminate over every possible multi-domain effect; that way we can present the highest quality menu of decisions to the right commander, faster than ever before.”

WARTECH: Co-Creation for Rapid Fielding

This deep integration of multi-domain warfighters into the development process is a key component of the larger AFRL process known as WARTECH, which brings together warfighters, technologists, planners, and acquisition personnel to collectively develop operational concepts motivated by future force design and enabled by high-payoff science and technology.

“The DASH to MASH series is really a textbook example of what WARTECH is intended to accomplish and right in line with the Command, Control, Communications, and Battle Management strategy for agile, rapid, and iterative fielding of software solutions to support immediate warfighter needs and long-term force modernization,” said Jeffrey Palumbo, AFRL C3BM Capability Area lead. “This approach of user-producer co-creation allows for proof of concept, energizes the industrial base, allows for early operator feedback to shape development, and sets us up to deliver chunks of decision advantage capability to the warfighter in a rapid and repeatable cycle.”

The MASH Ensemble: Perceive Actionable Entity, Match Effector, and Generate Battle COAs

The experiment challenged six industry software development teams and the ShOC-N’s own military software development team to build tools that address three core decision functions derived from the DAF’s Transformational Model:

PAE: Recommending what actions can be taken against a target.

Match Effector: Given a list of possible effects, ranking a capability or a set of capabilities best suited for the given effect, and repeating for each of the other provided effects.

Generate Battle COAs: Given a list of matched effect-effector pairs, adding the additional capabilities throughout the execution window needed to support the principal match, and repeating for each of the next ranked pair.

A major breakthrough of the event was the successful integration of these disparate vendor tools.

“AFRL has done incredible work building an orchestrator that ensures these different companies can exchange data, ontologies, and metadata seamlessly,” Ohlund said. “We are proving that a true plug-and-play, modular approach not only works, but it fosters continuous competition and allows the government to select the best-of-breed software services as they mature.”

The Warfighter as Expert Evaluator

Throughout the sprint, the Airmen and Guardians were tasked not just as operators, but as expert evaluators. Their mission was to stress-test the AI’s decision logic, identifying limitations and providing immediate feedback to the developers sitting directly behind them.

“This is a true co-creation environment where software developers work directly with warfighters to ensure the tools meet their exact needs,” said Elizabeth Frost, AFRL MASH lead. “The teams are eager for feedback and implemented changes rapidly. This collaborative effort paid off during the second week of the sprint, as we saw a remarkable increase in the volume and quality of courses of action submitted.”

The operational impact of this co-creation was immediate and undeniable for the tactical operators.

“A week ago, it took my team and me 50 minutes to an hour to get one tasking done. With the help of the tool, we were able to get five or six taskings done,” said U.S. Air Force Capt. Adam Sochia, 552nd Operations Support Squadron ABM. “Basically, in the amount of time that we can do one tasking, this tool gives us the data and accurate options to complete five or more additional taskings.

Delivering a Lethal, Integrated Future

The event also featured the ShOC-N’s military software development team, who built their own solutions alongside industry. According to Carlos Dye, the ShOC-N MASH software development team lead, the military developers focused on applying their direct operational experience to the coding process. Their approach ensured that the machine took the brunt of the data processing, while the human operator remained firmly in control of the final tactical decisions.

This unique environment, which physically co-located military operators, Airmen developers, and industry partners, was critical to the event’s success.

“The synergy we are seeing here… is what has been lacking in previous attempts to accelerate delivery of warfighter capability,” said Lt. Col. Wesley Schultz, 805th CTS/ShOC-N commander. “Our mission at the ShOC-N is to remove barriers to creative problem-solving, allowing us to turn innovative concepts like human-machine teaming into tangible, lethal capabilities at speed.”

A key factor in enabling that speed and synergy was the underlying technical framework. Elizabeth Frost, the AFRL MASH lead, noted that by establishing a common application programming interface and architecture, the team was able to provide a unified user interface. This meant that regardless of which vendor’s software was running in the background, the experience remained consistent and intuitive for the warfighter, proving that integrated tools deliver a far better outcome than isolated solutions.

Ultimately, the MASH experiment provided an actionable blueprint for the future of multi-domain operations. The event validated the DAF’s Transformational Model, proving that when battle management is broken down into specific decision functions with a common integration framework, machines can process data at a speed unmatched by humans.

Ohlund concluded, “By demonstrating that diverse, AI-enabled tools can integrate effectively within this model to accelerate the kill chain, the DAF has taken a critical step toward securing decision advantage for the Joint Force.”

Deb Henley

505th Command and Control Wing

Public Affairs

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