From Command Centers to Combat Zones: How AI Strengthens Defense Operations

Artificial intelligence is reshaping how defense teams see, decide, and act under pressure. When built for real operational use, AI shortens decision timelines, adapts to evolving threats, and helps sustain readiness when the mission is on the line.

Accelint experts contributed to the Wiley volume Advances in Artificial Intelligence Applications in Industrial and Systems Engineering, analyzing how applied AI is reshaping mission-critical defense operations. Their section was co-authored by Dr. Dylan Schmorrow, Dr. Robert Sottilare, John Zaientz, John Sauter, Dr. Randolph Jones, Charles Newton, Dr. John Sussman-Fort, Robert Bixler, Dr. Brice Colby, Dr. Victor Hung, Dr. Jeffrey Craighead, Le Nguyen, and Dr. Ullice Pelican. Collectively, their work reflects programs that progressed beyond experimentation into field deployment, where capability is judged on whether it improves decision quality, reduces cognitive burden, and performs under real-world constraints.

The authors emphasize that AI only provides mission advantage when it is developed within real operational context, integrated into existing workflows, grounded in human accountability, and designed to withstand field conditions. Their contribution distills lessons from decades supporting defense programs, where success depends on whether systems support rapid decision cycles in dynamic, contested environments.

The work also examines how AI improves situational awareness by fusing distributed sensing into intelligence that directly supports tactical decisions; how autonomy enables uncrewed platforms to operate in contested environments while maintaining human oversight; how machine learning shifts key activities from reactive to predictive in logistics, cyber defense, and mission planning; and how adaptive training environments strengthen cognitive performance ahead of deployment. Taken together, these themes underscore how operational AI is delivering measurable value today across planning, coordination, and sustainment.

A recurring question in the defense community is how to deploy AI responsibly without compromising trust, accountability, or mission authority. The Accelint authors address this by outlining ethical and operational frameworks that preserve human judgment while enabling speed and precision at scale. Their examples span command-and-control systems, tactical planning, human-machine teaming, and medical support — all areas where real-world operations demand clarity, reliability, and resilience.

Advances in Artificial Intelligence Applications in Industrial and Systems Engineering is available through the Wiley Online Library. For defense teams evaluating where AI provides clear mission value, this contribution offers an experience-based view of how credible AI can be integrated from early evaluation through deployment to improve readiness when the mission demands it.