FORT KNOX, Ky. – In the fog of war, information is everything. A constant stream of data from satellites, drones, sensors, and soldiers provides critical battlefield information, but the sheer volume can be overwhelming. Commanders need to eliminate ambiguity that obscures the battlefield and be able to quickly understand complex environments. This makes the difference whether they are in charge or reacting to a threat. In Warfighter Exercise 26-03, also known as WFX 26-03, the U.S. Army V Corps is leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to turn this mass of data into a decision-making advantage.
WFX 26-03 is an exercise in support of the Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative, NATO’s regional strategy to defeat enemy mass and momentum led by U.S. Army Europe and Africa. At WFX-26-03, V Corps and its allied partners will simulate defense in depth by integrating modernization, battlefield innovation, and next-generation command and control integration using tools with low-cost unmanned systems and AI-enabled targeting.
The Maven Smart System is an AI platform that supports efforts to act as a digital spotter and can be used to process information on the battlefield at a scale and speed that is impossible for humans. Although algorithms are embedded, human analysts can analyze thousands of hours of video from surveillance platforms to automatically identify and flag objects of interest, such as enemy vehicles or equipment, avoiding hours of tedious surveillance and scanning. Maven provides commanders and their soldiers with a clearer common operational picture, accelerating military decision-making processes and enabling more informed and accurate decisions.
“The integration of AI systems like Maven has brought significant tangible benefits to V Corps and other military operations, primarily around accelerating the decision-making process and improving its quality,” explained Staff Sgt. Maj. David Huntington, V Corps’ current operations sergeant major. “Modern battlefields generate more data than ever before, and AI’s primary role is to rapidly process and refine this vast amount of information into intelligence that is relevant to commanders at all levels.”
However, integrating these powerful AI tools is not a simple solution. The usefulness of AI at all levels depends on how it is adapted to specific processes and data structures.
“Early AI requires intentional design: defined inputs, commands, parameters, definitions, and supporting data libraries that reflect how the force actually operates,” said Maj. Jeffrey Wilson, V Corps operational research and systems analysis officer. “When properly tuned, these systems can provide meaningful support to warfighters, but when they are not, they risk producing inconsistent or impractical output.”
Developed an understanding of Maven’s core components such as Datasets, Fusion Sheets, Objects, Workshops, Pipelines, and complementary applications such as Target Workbench, Kairos, Foundry, and Gaia. The power of these platforms lies in their ability to fuse and analyze large amounts of multidomain data. This includes everything from geospatial and signals intelligence to follow-motion video and even open-source information on social media.
Complex data comes to life with visualization. Instead of poring over raw spreadsheets, commanders interact with a dynamic map-based common operating picture and plot this unified view with clear visuals of friendly forces and potential threats.
The results were immediate and tangible, accelerating situational awareness and enabling critical decision-making. The most important benefit is that the decision-making cycle is significantly shortened.
“The next steps in AI integration in V Corps align with the Army’s broader goal of achieving ‘decision superiority’ through the Next Generation Command and Control (NGC2) initiative. The work being done on WFX 26-03 is directly informing the future of command and control across the Army,” Huntington elaborated on the statement. “The recent Department of the Army announcement to officially name the Maven Smart System as a program of record will help V Corps and the rest of the Army continue the integration of AI across staff branches.”
This technological leap is not about replacing soldiers or leaders. It’s about enabling them to use AI to enhance their expertise. This helps teams run scenarios that help predict future battlefield actions.
“Future success will depend on reducing complexity at the user level. The goal is not to make every soldier an AI expert, but to build systems that align with the way the unit fights,” Wilson said. “When data is structured properly and tools are applied correctly, interactions become more intuitive, enabling faster decision-making that supports warfighters and increases lethality.”
To support this effort, the Corps’ force management team, through its Innovation Working Group, developed business intelligence product tools to analyze, visualize, and share AI efforts across the formation. This has revealed room for innovation, with lower units such as the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, and 41st Field Artillery Brigade applying AI to enhance everything from unmanned systems integration to targeting processes. The key, Wilson emphasizes, is increasing engagement and centralizing these efforts to reduce duplication and increase success.
As V Corps continues to refine its use of AI, the lessons it learns are helping write the playbook for the wider Army. A commitment to technological superiority requires a data-centric mindset and a culture of innovation to ensure an agile, all-domain, and credible combat force. A future where artificial intelligence augments the intuition and judgement call of the American Soldier.
