Amid rising concerns about China's growing global influence and other emerging threats, the House Armed Services Committee is pressing the Pentagon for updates on its integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into national defense strategies. The committee's annual proposal for the National Defense Authorization Act, released Monday, includes several requests for briefings on the Department of Defense's AI initiatives.
One key area of concern is China's increasing maritime presence in disputed waters. The committee emphasized the need for enhanced Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) powered by AI to bolster the Navy's monitoring capabilities, strategic planning, and threat detection. They've requested a briefing by February on the current use of AI-driven MDA systems and further applications of AI to assess maritime traffic and identify potential threats.
Another focus is the use of AI in electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) analysis. The conflict in Ukraine has highlighted the dangers of adversarial electronic warfare systems, prompting the committee to call for AI-driven capabilities that enable warfighters to maintain EMS awareness and gain rapid insights. They've requested a briefing by December on the progress of integrating AI into EMS analysis, referencing existing AI-driven systems used by special operations forces for signal detection.
The committee also highlighted the Pentagon's plan for a Joint All-Domain Command and Control system, which leverages AI to analyze data from various military sensors and facilitate real-time decision-making for commanders. A similar system for the Air Force was suggested, with a report requested by January. Additional briefings were requested on an "AI education strategy" for service members (due by March), the infrastructure needed for AI capacity building, and the development of "red teams" to test AI systems (due by December). Further areas of interest include autonomy software development and AI integration into the Army's Future Vertical Lift program.
The overarching goal, as stated by U.S. Central Command’s top AI advisor in April, is to utilize AI for rapid data absorption and enhanced decision-making speed, while ensuring human oversight remains paramount.
