Why Edge AI Matters for the U.S. Military
By Ethan Wais
Throughout history, the ability for military units to function autonomously has proven decisive in countless conflicts. In today’s world, artificial intelligence will play a key role in how quickly these units can act and respond. The side that responds the fastest will most likely prevail.
Communication usually is the first thing to go in a high-tech fight, making edge AI – processing data locally without relying on centralized cloud systems – even more vital. Adversaries will jam the airwaves, cut data links and try to blind and deafen our forces. When that happens, the teams that can leverage advanced technology to think and respond quickly will have the advantage.
Decentralized Command and Control: A Historical Advantage
Most people take communications for granted. Our cell phones work almost everywhere. But in tomorrow’s contested environment, where adversaries will employ electronic warfare and cyberattacks, maintaining secure, real-time communication will become a considerable challenge.
The capacity for military units to act when communication links are compromised has always been crucial. For example, Napoleon’s corps system ensured that his forces could operate effectively even when separated from central command. Similarly, submarine commanders have long operated under strict radio silence. Today, Special Operations Forces teams are small but highly agile, able to act quickly on information even when traditional communication channels are unreliable or absent. And in Ukraine, drone crews adapt to GPS jamming and communications blackouts, improvising in real time to hit their targets.
AI-Enabled Decision-Making: Speed as the New Battlespace Advantage
AI is revolutionizing how warfighters process information and make decisions. It can process staggering amounts of data, such as satellite images, sensor feeds and drone video, and filter out only what matters. This capability empowers faster, more accurate decisions in dynamic, high-pressure environments, giving forces a critical edge on the battlefield. However, precious time is lost if all that processing happens in a distant server farm. In conflict, milliseconds count. That’s why AI’s full potential is realized when it operates at the edge,directly on devices like drones, tanks or soldier-worn systems.
Edge AI puts the processing power directly on the platform, whether in the drone, inside the vehicle, on the ship, or in a soldier’s kit, so that systems keep working when the network is jammed. This eliminates the lag of sending data back to the cloud, leaving communications channels free for what truly matters.
Here’s why edge AI matters for the U.S. military:
Decisions without delay, enabling warfighters to act immediately without waiting for remote data analysis.
On-site processing is harder to disrupt and less vulnerable to hacking or jamming.
Autonomous unmanned systems like drone swarms can adapt mid-mission when cut off from operators.
Communications stay lean as data is filtered at the source, saving bandwidth for other critical information.
The Future of Warfare Belongs to the Fastest Thinker
As near-peer adversaries invest heavily in advanced electronic warfare capabilities, the U.S. military must embrace edge AI to maintain its competitive edge. By integrating AI directly into frontline systems, warfighters will gain unparalleled speed, autonomy and resilience. This doesn’t mean handing control over to machines. It means enabling the warfighter through human-machine teaming and accelerating the Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act (OODA) loop.
In modern conflict, victory won’t go to the side with the most firepower, but the one who can think and act the fastest. Edge AI ensures that the U.S. military remains one step ahead.
Ethan Wais is director of product management and GM of federal at Syntiant Corp.