Nichols Martin
Joe Shepherd, vice president of directed energy innovation at Booz Allen Hamilton, said the modern era necessitates the use of artificial intelligence in military operations.
Computing power allows militaries to further build on gathered data, make intelligence-based decisions and support other modern technologies including directed energy, he wrote in a piece National Defense Magazine published Monday.
“Only AI could achieve the level of calculation required under the time constraints of a live battlefield scenario and provide the resulting guidance to a human operator to make an informed decision, especially in a drone swarm attack scenario,” Shepherd noted.
Cited an example, he said AI can support target acquisition, predictive maintenance and collateral damage reduction associated with directed energy, a technology that weaponizes lasers and microwaves against threats.
AI can compute target trajectories, situational awareness and environmental factors to meet precision requirements needed by directed energy weapons to perform accurately, Shepherd added.
He said the Department of Defense is already looking at how analytical technologies can support tactical applications, under an AI accelerator initiative launched in June 2021.
