The U.S. Army in Europe is preparing for large-scale combat operations by focusing on how forces could withstand intense missile and drone attacks, reflecting what leadership describes as the worst day for Ukraine, unian.net reported.
Simulating Overwhelming Aerial Threats in Europe
During the Association of the United States Army conference held in Washington last month, military planners outlined the scale of modern aerial attrition. Brigadier General Steven Carpenter, who leads the U.S. Army’s multi-domain command in Europe, detailed the volume of data commanders expect to process during high-intensity conflict. American forces on the continent must prepare to monitor upwards of 1,500 potential targets daily while simultaneously neutralizing up to 1,200 incoming missile and drone strikes.
Bridging the Gap Beyond Human Capacity
That volume may be excessive for analysts. To assist, the military is integrating artificial intelligence into its command systems. Carpenter emphasized that these tools are designed to assist rather than replace personnel, prioritizing incoming threats, analyzing threats, and suggesting responses ranging from kinetic strikes to electronic warfare and cyber operations.
Maintaining Strict Human Strike Authorization
Despite the reliance on automated threat assessment, final strike authorization will remain in human hands to comply with international humanitarian law. The technology functions to facilitate the work of analysts, allowing them to concentrate on the most complex targets requiring additional study.
Testing Systems with NATO Allies
The U.S. military has already tested its own AI system alongside NATO allies during joint European exercises. These trials feed into the development of the Next Generation Command and Control system, an architecture designed to supply commanders with information on targets, munitions, intelligence, equipment readiness, and possible enemy actions.
