WASHINGTON — The US Air Force wants to install permanent surveillance systems powered by artificial intelligence and other advanced computer technologies at sites overseen by US Central Command.
In documents released last week, the service sought industry comment on a potential high-tech “surveillance system” at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, and other unnamed “forward locations.” disclosed.
Such a system could significantly reduce the manpower and hours needed to keep tabs on foreign workers, a 24-hour assignment, the Air Force said. Al Udeid is the largest US military base in the Middle East and served as a crucial evacuation hub during the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
“Force protection personnel deployed across the [area of responsibility] are responsible for monitoring [other country nationals] work on various projects,” the RFI states. “This artificial intelligence system would replace the need for in-person surveillance and reduce up to 75% of such cantonments, allowing USAF resources and force protection assets to be used against higher priorities.”
Components of the future network will likely include cameras and other hardware, pattern recognition capabilities, automated alerts, geospatial tracking, and real-time digital twins, or virtual models designed to mirror the real world. Exactly when a system would be operational was unclear.
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The Department of Defense is investing in and leveraging AI to increase productivity and augment military operations, including manned and unmanned teams, intelligence analysis, and personnel readiness. More than 600 AI projects were underway in the department at the start of 2021, according to a public tally, with air and space forces responsible for at least 80.
Air Force chief information officer Lauren Knausenberger said in November that the service needed to “automate more” in order to stay dominant. The speed and flexibility offered by AI, other U.S. defense officials said, are needed to maintain an edge over technologically savvy competitors, such as China and Russia.
The Air Force in 2020 deployed AI as a pilot’s sidekick, allowing him to manage detection and navigation aboard a U-2 Dragon Lady surveillance aircraft. More recently, AFWERX, an Air Force office charged with identifying innovative ways to use technology, set up a program called Autonomy Prime to learn more about the autonomous kit the private sector is developing and how it military can enforce it, Defense News reported.
Public Pentagon spending on AI, including autonomy, soared to $2.5 billion in 2021. The figure was just over $600 million in 2016.
Colin Demarest is a reporter at C4ISRNET, where he covers military networking, cyber and IT. Colin previously covered the Department of Energy and its National Nuclear Security Administration — namely the Cold War cleanup and the development of nuclear weapons — for a South Carolina daily. Colin is also an award-winning photographer.