Traditionally, that meant collecting and sending data back to command facilities in Hawaii or the continental U.S. for analysis and response. But in fast-changing operational environments, that approach is quickly becoming outmoded and unreliable.

This scenario highlights both the challenge commanders face and the strategic shift underway across the military. The decisive advantage no longer rests solely on the movement of troops and materiel—but on the ability to move and process information faster, more securely, and with greater operational relevance than adversaries.

Achieving that kind of information advantage means being able to deliver real-time insights to warfighters in the field—especially in environments where communications are disconnected, disrupted, intermittent, or limited (DDIL). This isn’t just a technical upgrade; it’s a strategic imperative.

Underlying this shift is the growing expectation that actionable intelligence will reach those on the front lines faster than it reaches our adversaries. That expectation is driven in no small part by the commercial experience most consumers have become accustomed to – e.g., the ability to track deliveries en route and notifications when they arrive.  

Conflict planning and logistics in contested DDIL environments are obviously more complicated, which is all the more reason why the advantage lies with those who have an information advantage. That requires assessing, processing, and disseminating vast amounts of data quickly at the edge.

Gaining the data edge

“In many regards, data is the five-five-six round of the next war,” said John Sahlin, vice president for defense cyber solutions at General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT), referring to the standardized rifle cartridge used by NATO forces. “It has become the lynchpin to enhance the decision-making process for advantage.”

That advantage depends on more than just collecting data. It requires turning it into usable intelligence faster than adversaries can react.

“The core problem is latency,” explained Matt Ashton, partner customer engineer at Google Public Sector. “Until recently, the immense volume of data from sensors, drones, and logistical trackers required the processing power and AI available primarily in distant cloud computing centers.”

“Our DOD customers struggle with the current status quo at the edge because they can’t run true AI,” said Ashton. “So data has to get sent back to the mother ship to crunch the data and get a resolution. The massive differentiator now is our ability to provide AI at the edge.”

According to both industry experts, the solution lies in a combination of powerful, ruggedized edge computing platforms and AI models specifically engineered for defense use that can operate independently, even when completely disconnected from high-capacity networks.

Google, for example, provides this capability through its Google Distributed Cloud (GDC), a platform designed to bring data center capabilities to the field.

“GDC was built to run so it never has to ‘call home.’ It can sit on the Moon or a ship. It doesn’t have to get updates,” Ashton said. “It’s a family of solutions that includes a global network, but also features an air-gapped GDC box that connects to the Wide Area Network and other on-prem servers not on the internet.”

This allows commanders on submarines, at remote bases, or in forward-deployed positions to run AI and analytics locally and process vast sensor data streams in-theater without waiting on external links.

Why mission-specific AI models matter

However, raw computing power is only part of the equation. Commercial AI models often lack a nuanced understanding of military operations. This is where operationally relevant AI models developed by GDIT that translate raw data into relevant, actionable intelligence are crucial.

Sahlin compared the role of mission-specific AI models to a speedometer in a car. “What it measures is the revolutions per minute of the axle. What it reports is how fast you’re going in miles per hour,” he explained. “That’s the kind of insight that only comes from real-world familiarity with military operations.”

“A clear grasp of operational objectives is key to developing models that are tuned to real-world demands of each mission,” said Sahlin. “So that may mean multiple mini-models to translate data into relevant insights.”

Sahlin also explained why applications built on an open data architecture model are crucial to adaptability at the edge.

“The real value of an open data architecture, particularly in the defense industry, is that it’s a very decentralized platform. Logistics is a classic example of commercial, local, last-mile delivery providers working with many sources. In the military, you won’t have a single source or model. This is where open architecture is critical.”

Security remains foundational to all of this. Sahlin noted that while the military can benefit from commercial innovation, it still needs to ensure higher levels of security than commercial operators. So it’s also essential that the military’s AI development partners have a deep understanding of the Defense Department’s zero trust security practices and requirements, which apply to the broader base of defense suppliers in the DOD’s supply chain.

“GDIT’s value lies in its longstanding experience supporting defense missions,” Sahlin said. “We work with clients to gather the right data, build tailored models, and deliver intelligence to the edge, even in DDIL conditions where units may be disconnected or intentionally silent.”

Looking ahead

By combining a platform like GDC with mission-specific AI models from GDIT, military logistics teams can move from reactive support to proactive planning, anticipating needs, reallocating resources, and outmaneuvering adversaries.

As operational demands grow more complex and communications become more contested, defense leaders say gaining an information advantage at the edge isn’t just important, it’s essential for mission success.

Learn more about how GDIT and Google Distributed Cloud can help your organization deliver at the edge more proactively.

This article was sponsored by GDIT and Google Cloud.

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The war in Ukraine has served as a stark illustration of the rapid evolution of modern conflicts. The jarring shift from trench warfare to drone warfare and the dynamic use of real-time intelligence underscore a critical reality: traditional warfare—and strategic wargaming simulations—are undergoing radical transformations.

For wargaming experts, several factors are driving that transformation: artificial intelligence (AI), the availability of real-time situational data, and open data architectures that allow military strategists to overlay multiple layers of information, like virtual Lego blocks, to test out various simulations and enable faster decisions.

AI and modern, open IT architecture in particular are changing the nature of wargaming simulations, according to a panel of wargaming specialists that included Lt. Col. Scotty Black of the U.S. Marine Corps, Mark (Ernie) Gombo, a former USMC planner now with Microsoft, and Stephen Gordon of Red Hat.

The panel, hosted by Scoop News Group and sponsored by Red Hat, delved into how AI and the ability to layer situational intelligence on top of digital landscapes are dramatically reshaping the nature of wargaming simulations. Those changes offer a glimpse of new ways for leaders across the federal government to grapple with complex, data-rich challenges.

From theory to reality: Wargaming’s wake-up call

Wargaming has been an indispensable but relatively static tool for military planners to test strategies and anticipate threats for decades. Mark Gombo, Director of Federal Growth Team at Microsoft and a former Marine, described traditional wargaming exercises as “very manual, intensive and laborious. Everybody joined in the same room. We stood around a common map chip…you had the participants, the observers, the white cells, note takers.” The process was slow, insights were hard-won, and the scope was often limited by human capacity and available data.

The Ukraine conflict threw these limitations into sharp relief. Lt. Col. Scotty Black, USMC AI Modeling and Simulation Technology Lead, pointed out that pre-conflict expectations, even among experts, often predicted a swift, conventional engagement. “It wasn’t the conflict we thought it was going to be,” he noted, “because we were not able to really model or simulate some of the other factors that played a role in it,” such as social media intelligence “or the impact that small, cheap drones had on the conflict.” This gap highlighted the urgent need for wargaming to incorporate a far wider, more dynamic range of inputs.

Enter AI and open architecture. These technologies enable the military to move beyond “stovepipe simulation engines” and “interoperability issues,” as Lt. Col. Black identified them.

Tech-driven transformation: AI and open systems unleashed

Stephen Gordon, Director of Strategic Accounts for DoD Missile and Space at Red Hat, and a Fellow at the Institute for the Study of War, emphasized the power of open architecture in integrating diverse datasets. He likened it to “building with Lego blocks,” where new systems and data sources—from space assets to cyber intelligence and “transparent domains” like information operations—can be seamlessly added or removed. This flexibility is crucial for creating comprehensive simulations that reflect the multi-domain nature of modern geopolitical landscapes. “Interoperability is almost the end state,” Gordon stated, allowing for the fusion of previously siloed data.

Mark Gombo elaborated on how commercially available IT and AI solutions make these simulations more realistic and insightful. He described modern wargames ingesting “real-world streaming data from social media, from distributed sensors throughout the globe,” processing petabytes of data using “the elasticity of hyperscale cloud” and advanced GPUs. This allows for “real-time analysis on what’s going on,” collapsing the timeframe for insights from weeks or months to near-instantaneous feedback. This speed enables virtual participation from anywhere, reducing logistical burdens and broadening collaborative possibilities.

The integration of AI is not merely about processing more data faster; it’s about generating novel insights and challenging human biases, says. Lt. Col. Black. He envisions AI as a tool to “increase the speed, scale, and scope of war games.” It allows military strategists to develop more varied scenarios, run simulations more efficiently, and, crucially, “inform human planners, human decision-makers on alternative realities that maybe you should consider.” This man-machine teaming can help strategists break free from conventional thinking and explore a broader range of possibilities. The goal, Black emphasized, is to gain unforeseen understanding: “We’re looking for insights that we wouldn’t have had beforehand.”

Lt. Col Black says this ability to rapidly iterate and test multiple scenarios across diverse domains, informed by real-time data and AI-driven analysis, is transformative. It allows military leaders to move from static, episodic games to what he described as a “persistent, dynamic environment” that can be queried and revisited continuously, informing readiness at all levels.

The path forward: Applying wargaming’s AI lessons

The panelists offered key advice for defense and government leaders. Gordon suggested starting small with AI, learning from adjacent industries like commercial gaming or even the movie industry, which uses AI to visualize complex scenarios.

Gombo stressed the importance of robust collaboration between government, industry, and academia and the need to “educate and challenge industry partners to provide the capabilities and outputs required.” He also underscored the imperative for “responsible AI” to avoid strategic overmatch in great power competition. Lt. Col. Black highlighted that such advancements depend on continuous collaboration to meet the pacing threat.

While the focus was on military simulations, the implications for the broader federal government are profound. Agencies dealing with disaster response, economic forecasting, cybersecurity threats, or public health crises all face similarly complex, multi-faceted, data-intensive challenges. The ability to rapidly ingest diverse data streams, model complex systems, simulate potential outcomes, and iterate on strategies using AI-powered tools could revolutionize decision-making and preparedness across government.

The panelists stressed that the lessons from the evolving world of wargaming—the need for interoperable data, open architectures, AI-driven insights, and collaborative innovation—are universally applicable for any organization striving to navigate an increasingly unpredictable world.  

Learn more about how Red Hat helps agencies leverage open-source technologies and services to improve decision making.

This video panel discussion was produced by Scoop News Group for FedScoop and DefenseScoop and underwritten by Red Hat.

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The report, “Navigating the Intelligence Community IT Roadmap,” analyzes key challenges facing the IC and outlines how existing and tested technology capabilities can help IC components gain a strategic advantage over adversaries.

The report’s timely release aligns with the IC’s five-year IT roadmap, which seeks to advance intelligence operations by promoting seamless collaboration, enhanced data sharing and management and the ability to deploy the newest tech innovations rapidly.

The report highlights a variety of currently available technical capabilities developed by GDIT as part of its long-standing work to support the U.S. defense and intelligence agencies, including:

• DeepSky — a private, multi-cloud, on-prem data center environment developed and maintained by GDIT that facilitates the testing of emerging technology and security capabilities from multiple providers in collaboration with government agencies and their partners. “It’s really difficult to ingest massive amounts of data from a bunch of tools and make it usable for an engineer, an analyst or an executive. So DeepSky helps make those tools work together,” says Ryan Deslauriers, director of cybersecurity at GDIT.

• Mission Partner Environments — a new generation of interoperable networking and data exchange environments. Originally designed to allow military units to exchange data with specific partners, these expanded information-sharing environments enable the selective yet secure sharing of sensitive and classified information with trusted military and coalition partners. MPEs make it possible to take a “full report, break out what can and can’t be released, and push it to the appropriate network virtually and automatically so that information gets to relevant users where they are in a timely fashion,” explains Jennifer Krischer, a former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer who now serves as vice president for defense intelligence at GDIT.

• Raven — a mobile command center tech suite developed by GDIT that fits in the back of a truck. It extends and deploys the data mesh concept to mobile environments. It can be utilized for disaster relief, special forces operations, or disconnected environments, enabling operators to collect and disseminate data from the tactical edge directly to users on the ground and back to the enterprise. Raven is an example of how GDIT “enables teams to conduct their mission without having to develop, build, maintain, and operate the services internally,” notes Nicholas Townsend, senior director at GDIT.

• Federated Data Fabric — creates a unified data environment through a centralized service platform designed to streamline data curation, management, and dissemination and enable seamless access to data independent of its source or security level. It allows users on the network’s edge to discover, request, publish and subscribe to information within a federated network environment.

Workforce commitment

The report also highlights GDIT’s distinctive approach to hiring and training professionals with extensive defense, IC, and technical experience who uniquely understand the needs of the government’s mission.

“Our workforce two to five years from now will need to be different from what it is today and prepared to take advantage of new technology,” notes Chaz Mason, mission engineering and delivery lead at GDIT. Recognizing this, GDIT doubled its investment in tuition and technical training programs in 2023. More than 20,000 employees have taken at least one of our cyber, AI, and cloud upskilling programs, he said.

GDIT’s staff currently numbers 30,000 professionals supporting customers in over 400 locations across 30 countries; 25%+ of the workforce are veterans.

Read more about how GDIT’s vendor-agnostic technology and decades of government customer experience can help achieve the Intelligence Community’s data-sharing vision.

This article was produced by Scoop News Group for FedScoop and DefenseScoop and sponsored by GDIT.

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During a presentation at DefenseTalks in May 2024, Wes Anderson, vice president, defense operating unit, at Microsoft Federal, not only highlighted AI’s far-reaching impact across sectors but also its implications for the Department of Defense (DOD).

“We all know this is a time of great power competition, one with unprecedented near-peer competitors that have the will, economic means and an industrial base to enable their ambitions,” said Anderson. “One of the questions I often get is, how can you help the DOD bring innovation to their mission, and how can you help us accelerate pace? An area where we’re seeing that potential is with AI.”

AI in action

A pivotal moment in AI’s advancement was the emergence of ChatGPT, which demonstrated AI’s capability to achieve mass adoption rapidly. While technologies like mobile phones took 16 years to reach 100 million users and the Internet took 7 years, ChatGPT achieved this milestone in just 60 days in January 2023. “This swift adoption highlights a significant leap from traditional AI to generative AI, powered by advanced foundational models trained on vast datasets using cloud-based supercomputers,” he said.

Anderson cited a collaboration between Microsoft’s Azure Quantum team and Pacific Northwest National Labs to reduce dependency on lithium by developing new battery materials. Traditionally, this process would take years, but with AI and cloud-based supercomputers, the team reduced 30 million candidate elements to one viable electrolyte in just two weeks. “This breakthrough illustrates AI’s potential to revolutionize research and development timelines across various fields, including the defense sector,” said Anderson. “Ultimately, these models can help us make informed decisions across massive amounts of disparate data and will benefit how the Defense Department does business and executes its mission.”

AI’s impact also extends to enhancing workforce efficiency. Anderson cited Microsoft and LinkedIn’s 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report, which revealed that two-thirds of employees feel they lack the time or energy to complete their work, hindering innovation and strategic thinking. AI can alleviate this burden by automating routine tasks and enabling workers to focus on more critical, value-added activities. In the defense sector, Anderson said AI can help the U.S. address the shortage of people and skills to help defend the nation by enabling better decision-making and upskilling. 

Secure and ethical AI implementation

However, Anderson also acknowledged that the DOD faces unique challenges in adopting AI, particularly concerning data security. To address this, he discussed the deployment of GPT-4 within secure environments, ensuring that sensitive information remains protected while leveraging AI’s capabilities. “This approach exemplifies how AI can be integrated into critical operations without compromising security, thereby driving innovation and efficiency within the defense sector,” said Anderson.

In addition, ethical considerations are paramount when it comes to AI deployment within the DOD. Anderson stressed the need for responsible and ethical AI practices that align with the DOD’s guidance. “Implementing guardrails ensures AI is used in ways that are safe, fair, and beneficial to all stakeholders,” he said.

Adapting to an AI-driven future

Anderson also underscored the importance of cultural and organizational change alongside technological adoption. AI’s full potential can only be realized if the workforce adapts to new ways of working. “It’s not just about the technology. The technology can enable you to move really quickly, but it’s only going to be as quick as your workforce can move,” said Anderson. “So, you have to change the culture. You have to change how people work by bringing them along from the start and letting them get comfortable with AI.”

While AI holds transformative potential across industries and within the DOD, realizing its full benefits requires a balanced approach that integrates technology with cultural and ethical considerations and prioritizes both technological advancement and workforce adaptation.

Learn more about how Microsoft can help government organizations transform in the era of AI, sign up for news and updates at https://aka.ms/AIforGovUpdates.

This article was produced by Scoop News Group and sponsored by Microsoft.

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Paul Kurtz, Chief Cybersecurity Advisor & Field CTO for Splunk, talks about how AI and automation will encourage the Department of Defense to be nimbler and more innovative. He also shares what will be key to delivering a seamless transfer of data among the services for better decision-making in a future fight.

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Sandeep Dorawala, President, Digital Solutions Group, at SMX, talks about how he sees AI and automation helping the Department of Defense be nimbler and more innovative. He also shares what emerging technologies, systems or concepts will have the greatest impact on DOD’s mission over the next 5 to 10 years.

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Greg Clifton, General Manager, Defense & National Security Group at Intel, talks about how he sees AI and automation helping the Department of Defense be nimbler and more innovative. He also shares what emerging technologies, systems or concepts will have the greatest impact on DOD’s mission over the next 5 to 10 years.

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Rob Watson, Vice President of Sales, DOD, at Iron Bow, talks about how AI and automation will encourage the Department of Defense to be nimbler and more innovative. He also shares what will be key to delivering a seamless transfer of data among the services for better decision-making in a future fight.

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