TAMPA – An era of rapid technological change is enabling a “bit of a special operations renaissance” where technologies such as decentralized AI and autonomy can give small teams an advantage against larger adversaries. The commander of U.S. Special Operations Command said on Tuesday.
But this era has also brought about increased collaboration between China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, raising concerns among US SOCOM's foreign partners, Gen. Brian Fenton said at a conference here. This was stated at the SOF Week conference.
“The vision we all shared during this decisive decade is that dictators and terrorists alike, from China to Russia, Iran to North Korea, and violent extremist organizations, have committed a free and open international It's about trying to overturn the system,” Fenton said. .
Special operations forces face planned and proposed reductions in aircraft and operations, including in critical areas such as intelligence, training with the Ukrainian military, exercises with partner forces in the Philippines, and Africa. It will have a unique role to play in countering that threat, including countering Russian influence in China. and influence the war.
Fenton did not mention any cuts, but noted that while demand for special operations forces has increased, resources have not.
“Our national leaders have told us that SOCOM and the mission assigned to us will be needed three times more in this decisive decade. [special operations forces] “Events supporting strategic competition have increased by more than 30% year over year, and crisis response events have increased by 150%,” he said.
SOF elements are already leaning heavily toward artificial intelligence, he said.
“In some ways, it could change the nature of war in such a way that we find that the smaller elements absolutely have things that the larger elements don't have.” [in] Such asymmetrical advantages, he said, “could shift the balance like the David and Goliath that Malcolm Gladwell et al. You can see it in your personal life as well,” he added. ”
Lisa Saunders, SOCOM's director of science and technology, said SOCOM will leverage AI in a variety of ways.
“AI can be used to understand when warfighters are becoming cognitively overloaded and to prepare information in a way that is most effectively tailored to a specific person. AI for aircraft performance. AI can be used to optimize waveforms and help you perform in competitive environments with accurate information to derive spatial awareness. So when you use AI, it's a tool, not an objective,” she said.
Lt. Col. Tosh Lancaster, program manager for SOF Lethality, described several new capabilities that SOCOM is considering acquiring in the near future. Some are simply more advanced versions of current weapons, such as sniper rifles that can hit targets 2,500 meters away, and so-called “tactical precision missiles.”
“Think of this as a Javelin-like system,” but much lighter and cheaper, Lancaster said. “We are currently in this market research phase and plan to move forward with the collaboration in late 2024 or 2025.”
But much of what SOCOM is seeking to make individual operators more lethal relies on a subfield of AI: autonomy. This includes not only aerial defense but also weaponized drones of various sizes, from those small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.
“I would describe it as, 'We're trying to achieve organic overhead fires, military-controlled tactical level overhead precision fires.' [operational detachment Alphas] “Commanders and SEAL commanders are fighting tactically on the ground…because in a conflict environment you can't rely on air cover,” he said. “But that requirement now also includes ground robots.”
This includes lethal versions of the kind SOCOM already uses to gather tactical intelligence.
“What we can do is adopt some of the other systems. [program executive office] He’s going to play defense … and be able to add lethality to it,” Lancaster said.
But the most important use of AI in SOCOM is to help human operators better manage and improve their own performance, Fenton said.
“Those are our top priorities. We love technology, but we also keep on top of humans,” he said.
