Part III - Scalability and Future Applications

Welcome back to the Resilience Newsletter!

This week’s edition marks the end of our three-part series on the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into Battlefield Management Systems (BMSs). Last time we looked at which available AI products are suitable for integration into military systems and how they could aid soldiers in a real-life combat scenario.

Today we will examine the idea of scalability, focusing on how an intelligent BMS can assist forces in multinational operations and how we could apply it to current conflicts. 

As in the previous edition, our guest author Linus Wittenburg, who has hands-on experience using Battlefield Management Systems as a 2nd Lieutenant in the German army, will guide us through this segment. Linus is completing his MSc in Management at the London Business School and has worked in tech consulting for several years, during which he gained a specialisation in AI applications. 

Yours,
Uwe, Jack and Jannic

Scalability in Military Operations

The idea of scalability in a military context refers to a system’s ability to adapt to changing operational requirements. The added complexity of large-scale joint operations, increased amounts of input data, and larger variability of scenarios requires technologies to increase their scope without losing their core capabilities. [1]

Until now we have analysed the use of AI-supported BMSs on a small to medium scale, focusing on individual units or autonomous combat scenarios. To upscale this technology for use on a multilateral scale, three main concepts need to be ensured:

Computational Capacity

AI models must have the processing power to adjust to the varying amounts and types of battlefield data and ensure that real-time processing and predictive abilities are maintained. This issue could become increasingly problematic if the corresponding hardware does not evolve as well. 

Interoperability

A seamless integration with allied and multinational systems has to be ensured to allow a collaborative use of the same BMS software. With current allies using a variety of operating systems, this uniformity in the form of a common defence-as-a-platform approach has to be achieved first before a common AI model can be implemented. [2]

Autonomous Adaptability

The AI itself needs to adjust to the new demands of joint operations. This includes general factors such as mission scale, operational tempo, and resource availability, but also individual aspects such as national capabilities (and the most efficient allocation of those based on overall targets), differences in military doctrines down to language barriers. 

Ensuring the implementation of these aspects is key to successfully upscaling intelligent BMS to a common use in allied forces. If provided, AI’s ability to scale intelligence processing from individual troop level insights to strategic command-level decisions will allow users to tailor applications to individual mission demands and provide a more layered approach towards organising complex operations. Although costly and time-consuming, achieving a fully collaborative military decision making process presents a vital step towards maximising the effectiveness of future joint operations between NATO allies. The following sections will apply this concept by examining the use of AI-aided BMS in two current conflict areas.

Applications in the Ukrainian conflict

The use of AI in the Ukrainian conflict is already widespread across offensive and defensive technologies. Semi-autonomous drones on both sides use AI to automatically detect and lock on to enemy targets, while Ukraine makes use of intelligent algorithms to combat Russian disinformation campaigns. [3] With “Kropyva” Ukraine also operates its own BMS, which is currently undergoing early stages of AI enhancements. [4]

Despite these advances, Ukrainian AI capabilities are still limited to small scale operations on a national level. This, however, could change if the country’s BMS was linked to the resources of its vast network of military allies, allowing the country to use military aid, intelligence and supply chain support more effectively. The following selection highlights the effectiveness of scaled collaboration in enhancing Ukraine’s defensive capabilities:

Integration with Allied Intelligence

A unilateral collaboration could enable the fusion of western satellite imagery into existing Ukrainian systems. With constant surveillance monitoring enemy troop movements and logistic developments, an integration into a joint BMS could automatically deduce real-time recommendations that optimise blue troop positioning. The enhanced threat anticipation could provide Ukraine the time and information advantage needed to successfully defend against numerically superior attacks (for a practical application, see Part II). 

Air & Missile Defence Coordination

A joint AI-driven approach could improve Ukraine’s coordination with allies in countering enemy missile and drone attacks by optimising air defence network integration. Intelligent Sensor Fusion could merge radar, infrared, and electronic warfare data from multiple nations to detect and classify incoming threats faster. Combined with adaptive positioning of anti-air capabilities using AI’s predictive capabilities, this could hinder the impact of attacks on both civilian infrastructure and military targets. 

Logistics & Battlefield Resource Management

AI could enhance Ukraine’s coordination with allied logistics systems, ensuring timely delivery of weapons, ammunition, and medical supplies. Using AI-driven logistics platforms that ensure high-priority units receive critical supplies first, or automatically calculate optimal, low-risk transport routes for military supply convoys, units could be supplied faster and more reliably. 

Applications in the Baltic Sea

Critical infrastructure such as pipelines and underwater data cables in the Baltic Sea have increasingly fallen prey to targeted acts of sabotage. As a response, NATO has raised its presence in the region to deter suspected asymmetric forces such as Russia’s “shadow fleet”. Numerous initiatives like the multilateral mission “Nordic Warden” [5] have been launched to increase patrols, implement new technologies, and enhance cooperation with allies. However, with eight NATO member states bordering and operating in the Baltic Sea, effective coordination of forces remains a challenge. AI-powered collaboration could thus prove vital to ensure seamless overwatch and persistent protection.

Multinational Surveillance Strategy

A more effective detection of potential threats could be achieved through AI-powered data fusion across maritime radar, satellite feeds, and cyber threat monitoring. Additionally, intelligent coordination of naval, aerial/space, and cyber surveillance that takes into account availability and predicted maintenance periods of vessels across NATO partners would allow allies to use their resources more efficiently. 

Prioritisation of Infrastructure Targets

AI’s predictive capabilities could prove vital in locating the most vulnerable infrastructure in the Baltic Sea as well as recommending proactive defence measures. Using a system of sensors monitoring underwater activities, intelligent systems could rely on pattern recognition algorithms to detect anomalies faster and more accurately. 

Individualised Threat Projections

To further support counter-sabotage missions, AI-enhanced vessel behaviour analysis could be implemented using surveillance imagery and movement patterns. Automatic flagging of irregular ship activities would allow allies to swiftly initiate recommended interceptions or reconnaissance missions before any damage can be caused by potential hostiles.

Concluding remarks on this series

While our discussed topics are only a small selection of possible use cases, I hope I was able to give you some insight into the countless innovative possibilities that come with the continuous development of this very special technology. Investments should therefore pivot towards companies like Systematic, Quantum Systems, Helsing or Palantir as these players are among the companies that are at the forefront of the digital revolution in the military sector. 

This concludes our exploration into the potential of artificial intelligence in modern battlefield management systems. We hope you enjoyed this series and were able to advance your knowledge and interest in this very important area. Please feel free to contact the experts at Project A or myself if you find yourself having any questions or remarks.

Sources and further reading

• Supporting the free flow of data across the userbase to ensure a true common operating picture - SYSTEMATIC

• Software-defined Defence: Algorithms at War - IISS 

• Ukraine collects vast war data trove to train AI models - Reuters

• Ukraine’s Secret Weapon, 'Kropyva' Software - United24 Media

• Joint Expeditionary Force activates UK-led reaction system to track threats to undersea infrastructure and monitor Russian shadow fleet - GOV.UK

News That Caught Our Attention 👀

• Germany’s Merz lifts range limit on weapons donated to Ukraine - Defense News

• Caught Between Russia and the U.S., Germany Aims to Be a Stronger Force in NATO - The New York Times

• Trump’s talk on Ukraine is cheap, but the Kremlin has set him a pivotal test - CNN

• Germany threatens steps against Israel as tone shifts over Gaza - Reuters

Featured Jobs 👷

Every week we feature a list of interesting roles in European DefenceTech start-ups and scale-ups for readers seeking their next challenge in their careers.

• ARX Robotics: Head of Finance (Munich), Project Manager (London), Founder’s Associate (London)

• Quantum Systems: Technical Support Specialist (UAV) (Kyiv), Logistics Manager (Gilching), Senior Robotics and Machine Learning Engineer (Gilching)

• TYTAN Technologies: Governmental Affairs & Business Development Manager (Berlin or Munich)

• Vaeridion: Government and European Relations Manager (Munich, Delft), Electric Propulsion Engineer (Munich, Delft), Head of Procurement (Munich)

If you are a founder and would like to promote your open roles, please get in touch with us!

Passionate and want to contribute? 👩🏻‍💻

The European Resilience Tech Newsletter is always looking for regular and guest authors, writers, reporters, content creators etc. If you like what you read, you are passionate about improving European resilience regardless of your background and want to contribute, just reach out to us!

European Resilience Tech Newsletter Team

Uwe Horstmann co-founded Project A Ventures in 2012 as General Partner and has built Project A to be a leading European early-stage investor with over $1bn USD under management and having backed 100+ founders. In addition to Project A, Uwe serves as Reserve Officer in the German armed forces and advises the German Ministry of Defence in digital transformation issues.

Jack Wang is a software engineer turned product-driven tech investor and joined Project A in 2021 to lead the firm’s deep tech investing, which has grown to include DefenceTech. Prior to joining Project A, Jack worked in a variety of organisations such as Amazon and Macquarie Group across Australia, US and UK / Europe. Jack holds a MBA from London Business School and Bachelors of Engineering (Bioinformatics, 1st) from UNSW, Australia.

Jannic Meyer joined Project A initially contributing to what is now known as the Project A Studio, partnering with founders at the pre-idea stage, where he covered a variety of topics ranging from energy infrastructure to dual-use robotics and led our investment in ARX Robotics. He is now part of the investment team at Project A covering all things resilience.

Project A Ventures is one of the leading early-stage tech investors in Europe with offices in Berlin and London. In addition to 1 billion USD assets under management, Project A supports its 100+ portfolio companies with a platform team over 140 functional experts in key areas such as software and product development, business intelligence, brand, design, marketing, sales and recruiting. Project A have backed founders of Trade Republic, WorldRemit, Sennder, KRY, Spryker, Catawiki, Unmind and Voi as well as founders building in European Resilience: