The US Army is equipping soldiers with artificial intelligence tools on their phones, laptops, and drones to help identify threats more quickly, according to a new report. A $98.9 million contract with San Francisco-based startup TurbineOne will see the AI app deployed to troops, enabling them to spot drone launch sites or concealed enemy positions without relying on analysts reviewing data from drones, planes, and satellites.
The technology is part of a push by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to adopt more commercial software and replace older military systems with AI and drones. TurbineOne's app processes data and provides real-time insights to soldiers in the field. The company's CEO, Ian Kalin, said that over one weekend of use, more than 200 software revisions were made based on user feedback.
Army senior executive Andrew Evans told The Wall Street Journal that the goal is to process data 10 to 25 times faster than adversaries, a benchmark he says is crucial for maintaining battlefield superiority. Evans noted that with drones and surveillance, hiding is no longer possible, and victory will depend on who has the fastest AI. “This is the most volatile, complex, uncertain, and ambiguous environment that we have operated in,” he said.
The app can be set to detect specific threats, such as drones or tanks with particular weapons, and updates soldiers as they move. It is compatible with any large language model (LLM), and the Department of Defense awarded contracts in July to AI firms including Google, xAI, Anthropic, and OpenAI. Evans highlighted the app's value in environments where communications are jammed, a common issue in the Russia-Ukraine war, where using a cellphone or laptop can make a soldier a target.
TurbineOne also has the capability to control drone swarms for coordinated attacks. Ukraine used such a tactic in June, damaging 41 aircraft and destroying at least 13 in an operation President Volodymyr Zelensky called “Operation Spider's Web.” The AI tool has been tested in US military exercises in Europe, near the Canadian border, and in the Pacific.
