The Future of Digital Operators - Whitepaper

Abstract

 You hear a lot about the future of warfare and theories on how the battlespace may change. Well the future is upon us and it’s no longer how much data we collect but how we leverage artificial intelligence to analyze massive amounts of data that will give us meaningful insights to gain tactical advantages over adversaries. In this paper we will discuss how Metis Analytics is developing an AI companion for intelligence analysts that will cut down on Tactical Operations Center staffing which can reduce its footprint in the battle space. 

Part 1: Defense CAPABILITY GAP(S)

Military units have traditionally supported combat elements with Tactical Operations Centers consisting of Analysts and command staff providing Operational Support for operators in the field. Normally TOCs are located at Forward Operating Bases and are mostly far away enough from enemy fire but close enough to provide on the ground operational support.  With recent learnings from the Ukraine-Russia War, we have come to understand that the TOC is no longer as safe as it once was. With longer range precision guided missiles, kamikaze drones and battlefield cyber attacks, the TOC has become more vulnerable and possibly a liability in the battle space because it can give personnel a sense of false security and a target for the enemy.

Metis Analytics is addressing this growing gap by the development of a collaborative Artificial Intelligence system called the Metis OS  that harnesses the power of spatial data at the tactical edge environment by ingesting and analyzing large amounts of open and closed source data that would take dozens of human analysts to do in the same amount of time. Metis OS  also helps create a smaller footprint for a TOC and in some situations completely eliminate the need for a TOC because it will also be able to be provided to small tactical teams.  

Instead of having 6 human analysts staffing a TOC, you can have 1 or 2 that are working alongside the Metis OS to analyze satellite imagery, create battle strategies and oversee the deployment of unmanned assets. Metis OS is a collaborative AI system consisting of a combination of knowledge reasoning, machine learning and natural language processing algorithms that helps human analysts quickly ingest large sums of spatial data. The data is then analyzed by the system to offer best recommendations for battle strategies or troop movements as well as data relationships within the operating environment. 

This system will soon work directly with tactical teams and will give them the ability to be agile and have the benefits of Command and Control with less rear support. Essentially, this system provides the team with the power of several human analysts without the extra people.  Lessons learned from Ukraine have also taught us that small combat teams need to be able to make quick movement decisions independently and be able to gather information and analyze battlefield data on the go. This process will be greatly improved by Metis OS.

Being able to reduce the footprint of Tactical Operations Centers is a huge need for the Army and is a must with future conflicts.  This collaborative AI system can have other use cases in Disaster Response which as we know any time a big disaster happens like Hurricane IAN there are hundreds of agencies and organizations responding pre and post disaster and contributing to massive amounts of spatial data that has to be collected and analyzed in order to implement effective strategies. With the power a Metis OS, we will be able to cut down the time it takes to process all that data and streamline response strategies like the best locations to place certain resources to be the most effective. 

This technology can also be used in Law Enforcement Tactical Operations during hostage situations or school shootings when you have a massive amount of unfiltered open and closed source data being ingested and you are attempting to determine strategies based on the information you are receiving. This system can do the heavy lifting which frees up resources in the Tactical Operations Centers and allows for faster and better data informed decisions to be made. 

TOCs have to be able to operate in a nonlinear and dynamic battlefield especially now in the age a swarm drones and long range precision guided missiles, this means that TOCS have to be able to be be able to ingest more data than ever before all while being able to protect themselves better. The current TOCS in most military units have outdated equipment and software and have to be manned by several people that are attempted to analyze things data from mostly closed sources like Satellite imagery, RF signals and and troop movements, 

Normally TOCs are not designed to be very mobile and usually stay in 1 place throughout the duration of the life of the Forward Operating Base. If the enemy is able to dial in the position of the TOCs they can easily coordinate attacks around eliminating the TOC because they know this is the brains of the operations.  But the brains of the operations needs to be distributed with a smaller footprint and more power to be able to adapt to the growing threat landscape where the enemy will be implementing strategies produced by artificial intelligence. 

Part 2: POTENTIAL FOR IMPACT

 We imagine that every individual tactical operator or soldier once equipped with the Metis OS platform will have the data collection and analysis power of a full staff TOC on their person whether they are interacting with the Metis AI via earpiece or AR goggles. With Metis, a small team will be able to command swarms of drones, ground robots that not only help them fight but navigate and collect intelligence. Metis OS will also parent several sub-classes called Digital Operators (DO’s)which are Algorithms tasked with specific types of tasks such as Cyber Intelligence, Reconnaissance and systems exploitation.  These Digital Operators will become highly skilled in executing specific tasks and missions and will be able to use physical assets such as UAVs, UGVs and other unmanned platforms to execute missions autonomously. 

This will be the new standard in the future of warfare and tactical operations. 

This solution is unique because it places the importance of analyzing big data at the tactical edge environment and truly creating an AI brain for the battlefield to make it all make sense. In any tactical environment there are so many missed opportunities currently that are being missed to capture and analyze open and closed source that is historical and current which can  be used to predict outcomes and mission success. 

Part 3: TECHNOLOGY AND CONCEPT VIABILITY

Advances in artificial intelligence are growing more rapidly than ever and America’s rivals are attempting to outperform and outpace use in applying AI to the battlefield and tactical operations. AI in tactical operations is no longer an idea that would be nice to have but a must have if we want to maintain Great Power dominance worldwide. Our technology uses machine learning and knowledge reasoning as the primary components of the AI system we are creating.  The foundational part of Metis OS is machine learning which can have the risk of being tricked by enemy systems  and misguided. We will create resilient models based on Zero Trust technology for versioning control and logging to authenticate every step our data takes which reduces threats and vulnerabilities. The deep learning models will also be created with resilient neural networks that constantly learn and adapt. We will constantly test systems and intentionally seek for vulnerabilities. 

Part 4: DUAL USE

We will be developing a version of Metis OS specifically for Law Enforcement SWAT teams that will be available in the SWAT Operations Command vehicle that will provide commanders with all the same benefits as listed above. We will be able to ingest data from any small UAS, UGVs, and body cams as well as social media feeds to be analyzed in real time. Currently most SWAT teams across the country use very simple ways of gaining situational awareness and there is a huge technology gap. As we develop, our goal is to gain access to venture capital funding which will help us rapidly scale our solution and to law enforcement agencies, local, state and federal.