The challenges of missile defense during warfare are numerous. Operators must manage rapidly moving targets, tight response times, and often ambiguous sensor information.

Radar screen showing multiple fast-moving tracks representing incoming threats
Operators must track rapidly moving targets across cluttered radar feeds.

The Department of Defense is now pursuing artificial intelligence solutions to clarify these complexities.

Their goal is to develop “AI-driven software tools that can process disjointed sensor data into a coherent and constantly refreshed understanding of aerospace and missile threats, swiftly enough to inform tactical decisions,” according to a request from the Defense Innovation Unit, with proposals due by September 24. “Current systems find it difficult to differentiate between objects that are close together, identify new threats, and update threat models accordingly.”

This initiative, named the “Space Threat Intelligence Synthesis Engine,” will capitalize on the primary strength of AI: its capability to rapidly process vast amounts of data. The system will integrate “extensive data streams from multiple sources like live video, satellite photos, radar, sensor outputs, geographic data, and classified intelligence.”

Dashboard visualizing fused sensor data and threat links
AI systems visualize patterns and links across disparate sensor inputs.

“The architecture will automate the synthesis of data across platforms, aiming to reveal underlying patterns, intricate operational links, and anticipatory threat behaviors that surpass what human analysis can achieve alone.”

The end result should be a system that “produces reliable, scored alerts that can support analysts directly, be part of a semi-automated process, or even function in fully automated systems.”

This AI integration will assist both human operators and other systems.

It aims to deliver “clear, user-friendly visual interfaces for frontline operators and fast, direct APIs for machines that manage automated command-and-control operations.”

The Defense Innovation Unit is targeting an open-source framework that can process information with a maximum delay of five seconds—ideally less than two seconds—from data receipt to display. The system should handle data throughput of 20 to 30 megabytes per minute, with the ability to support up to five gigabytes in surges.

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Contractors are expected to prove that their solutions can significantly enhance the speed and accuracy of event detection, characterization, and sourcing over existing systems.

As the use of missiles and drones increases in conflicts like those in Ukraine and Iran, AI’s role as a critical ally to burdened human operators is becoming more apparent. Given the limited availability of costly interceptors like the Patriot air-defense system, operators need to make prompt, well-informed decisions about their deployment.

Defense contractors and AI companies are increasingly collaborating to integrate AI into missile defense systems.

For instance, Northrop Grumman announced in July its partnership with AI company Camgian to integrate AI into their air and missile defense systems. Similarly, BAE and Scale AI have joined forces to enhance missile defense through artificial intelligence.