The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment and Threat Systems Management Office operate a swarm of 40 drones to test rotational unit capabilities during the Battle of Razish, at the National Training Center, May 8, 2019. (Photo of the US Army by Pv2 James Newsome)
WASHINGTON — Defense startup Anduril is teaming up with ChatGPT creator OpenAI in a “strategic partnership” that Anduril says will “responsibly develop and deploy advanced artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for missions national security” – particularly in the fight against drones.
“By bringing together OpenAI’s advanced models with Anduril’s high-performance defense systems and the Lattice software platform, the partnership aims to improve the nation’s defense systems that protect U.S. and allied military personnel from unmanned drone attacks. pilot and other aerial devices,” Anduril said in a statement. press release Wednesday. “The strategic partnership between Anduril and OpenAI will focus on improving the nation’s Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (CUAS) and their ability to detect, assess and respond to potentially lethal aerial threats in real time.”
The collaboration comes as the Pentagon struggles to find ways to defend its troops and installations, both abroad and at home, against the threat of drones of all sizes, a threat that has rapidly emerged since. Russia’s invasion of Ukraineespecially.
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Breaking Defense recently observed a military exercise in the Colorado mountains where different companies showcased their own counter-drone solutions for the country, from cyberattacks to networking. In July, the Pentagon conducted a similar experiment, this time attempting to defend against swarms of drones.
“No single capability, whether kinetic or not, could beat this type of (attack) profile,” Col. Michael Parent, chief of acquisition and resources at the Joint Counterwar Systems Office Unmanned aircraft run by the military. , he said at the time. “What we found is that they really need a whole systems approach, a tiered approach. »
Officials and experts have touted AI as a key potential aid to defeating drone swarms, enabling much faster identification of several threats that would otherwise overwhelm current systems and their human operators. In October, defense industry giant Northrop Grumman announced it was adding AI to an Army command system to better defend against the drone threat.
However, the Pentagon is also grappling with political and ethical considerations related to integrating AI into its operations, particularly in missions involving kinetic fires. In other applications, like chat programs, the DoD has shown that it is particularly wary of the potential errors that today’s popular AI systems can make.
Anduril appeared to acknowledge this concern and, in its statement released Wednesday, said that both companies’ “shared commitment to AI safety and ethics is the cornerstone of this new strategic partnership.” The collaboration, Anduril said, will be “subject to rigorous monitoring.”