The Department of Defense has signed a contract with start-up Scale AI to use artificial intelligence for military planning and operations, marking the Pentagon’s latest incorporation of emerging tech into its workflows.
The flagship program, dubbed Thunderforge, will integrate AI “agents” into military workflows to make the decision-making process earlier and faster for military leaders, Scale AI announced Wednesday.
Thunderforge is focused on developing and deploying AI-powered technology with the help of Microsoft’s large language model systems. Scale AI’s technology will also be incorporated into weapons manufacturer Anduril’s modeling and simulation infrastructure to help with mission planning, the company said.
The contract was awarded by the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit, which aims to adopt commercial technology throughout the military for national security and efficiency.
Currently, military planning processes depend on “decades-old technology and methodologies,” Bryce Goodman, DIU’s Thunderforge program lead and contractor, said in a blog post.
This creates a “fundamental mismatch between the speed of modern warfare and our ability to respond,” Goodman said. “Thunderforge brings AI-powered analysis and automation to operational strategic planning, allowing decision-makers to operate at the pace required for emerging conflicts.”
The system will first be deployed with the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and U.S. European Command to support planning, campaign developments, resource allocation and assessments, according to the DIU. It will then be scaled across combatant commands.
“Our AI solutions will transform today’s military operating process and modernize American defense,” Scale AI founder and CEO Alexnder Wang said in a statement. “Working together with DIU, Combatant Commands, and our industry partners, we will lead the Joint Force in integrating AI into operational decision-making.”
The Pentagon has tried to increase the integration of AI into military systems over the past few years, especially when it comes to consolidating and acting on large amounts of data.
The Pentagon has specifically pursued a new strategy when it comes to drones, including the ramped up use of AI to defend against drone attacks. Still, observers told The Hill last year that the defense industry faces a long road ahead to field new and emerging technologies.
