{"id":304727,"date":"2025-07-30T19:53:15","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T19:53:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/304727\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T19:53:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T19:53:15","slug":"the-new-frontline-winning-the-information-war-at-the-tactical-edge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/304727\/","title":{"rendered":"The new frontline: Winning the information war at the tactical edge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Military leaders overseeing operations in the Indo-Pacific face a daunting logistical puzzle. With forces dispersed across a vast theater that includes potential flashpoints like Taiwan in the South China Sea, ensuring that every base, ship, and unit has the right personnel, equipment, and supplies is a monumental task. That requires enormous intelligence at the tactical edge\u2014and increasingly, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to speed up decision-making.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2014but on the ability to move and process information faster, more securely, and with greater operational relevance than adversaries.<\/p>\n

Achieving that kind of information advantage means being able to deliver real-time insights to warfighters in the field\u2014especially in environments where communications are disconnected, disrupted, intermittent, or limited (DDIL). This isn\u2019t just a technical upgrade; it\u2019s a strategic imperative.<\/p>\n

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 \u2013 e.g., the ability to track deliveries en route and notifications when they arrive. \u00a0<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Gaining the data edge<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIn many regards, data is the five-five-six round of the next war,\u201d 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. \u201cIt has become the lynchpin to enhance the decision-making process for advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n

That advantage depends on more than just collecting data. It requires turning it into usable intelligence faster than adversaries can react.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe core problem is latency,\u201d explained Matt Ashton, partner customer engineer at Google Public Sector. \u201cUntil 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur DOD customers struggle with the current status quo at the edge because they can\u2019t run true AI,\u201d said Ashton. \u201cSo 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cGDC was built to run so it never has to \u2018call home.\u2019 It can sit on the Moon or a ship. It doesn\u2019t have to get updates,\u201d Ashton said. \u201cIt\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Why mission-specific AI models matter<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Sahlin compared the role of mission-specific AI models to a speedometer in a car. \u201cWhat it measures is the revolutions per minute of the axle. What it reports is how fast you\u2019re going in miles per hour,\u201d he explained. \u201cThat\u2019s the kind of insight that only comes from real-world familiarity with military operations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA clear grasp of operational objectives is key to developing models that are tuned to real-world demands of each mission,\u201d said Sahlin. \u201cSo that may mean multiple mini-models to translate data into relevant insights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sahlin also explained why applications built on an open data architecture model are crucial to adaptability at the edge.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe real value of an open data architecture, particularly in the defense industry, is that it\u2019s 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\u2019t have a single source or model. This is where open architecture is critical.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s also essential that the military\u2019s AI development partners have a deep understanding of the Defense Department\u2019s zero trust security practices and requirements, which apply to the broader base of defense suppliers in the DOD\u2019s supply chain.<\/p>\n

\u201cGDIT\u2019s value lies in its longstanding experience supporting defense missions,\u201d Sahlin said. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

As operational demands grow more complex and communications become more contested, defense leaders say gaining an information advantage at the edge isn\u2019t just important, it\u2019s essential for mission success.<\/p>\n

Learn more about how GDIT<\/a> and Google Distributed Cloud<\/a> can help your organization deliver at the edge more proactively.<\/p>\n

This article was sponsored by GDIT and Google Cloud.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"Scoop<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tWritten by Scoop News Group
\n\t\t\tScoop News Group is the parent company and publisher of FedScoop. “Sponsored content\u201d from Scoop News Group is original content produced by SNG Content Studio, a subsidiary of Scoop News Group. While the content conforms with FedScoop’s editorial and design standards, it is developed in consultation with and sponsored by Scoop News Group clients and is not produced by FedScoop’s editorial staff.\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Military leaders overseeing operations in the Indo-Pacific face a daunting logistical puzzle. With forces dispersed across a vast…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":304728,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3164],"tags":[11480,3284,112112,112113,112114,112115,3285,112116,112117,23762,112118,10292,53,16,15,112119],"class_list":{"0":"post-304727","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-computing","8":"tag-artificial-intelligence-ai","9":"tag-computing","10":"tag-department-of-defense-dod","11":"tag-executive-perspective","12":"tag-gdit","13":"tag-gdit-2025","14":"tag-google-cloud","15":"tag-google-distributed-cloud","16":"tag-john-sahlin","17":"tag-logistics","18":"tag-matt-ashton","19":"tag-sponsored-content","20":"tag-technology","21":"tag-uk","22":"tag-united-kingdom","23":"tag-zero-trust-security"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114943938244589958","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=304727"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304727\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/304728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=304727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=304727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}