German army eyes AI tools to expedite wartime decision-making

BERLIN — The German army is working to accelerate wartime decision-making through artificial intelligence tools capable of analyzing battlefield data more rapidly than humans, drawing lessons from Ukrainian and other forces, its commander told Reuters. Lt. Gen. Christian Freuding , who became army chief last October after years of overseeing Germany’s arms supplies to Kyiv, shared his insights from visits to Ukrainian command posts where drones and modern sensors have drastically increased the volume of battlefield data. “The Ukrainians exploit data which they have collected over four years of war. Based on this data, the AI can deduce how the enemy has acted in similar situations in the past - and recommend countermeasures,” he said. He noted that tasks now requiring hundreds of personnel and days to complete could be sped up significantly through AI, adding that conventional methods alone would never be enough to “break the adversary’s decision-making cycle.” Freuding suggested utilizing data from Ukraine and from German military exercises when training analytical tools, ensuring alignment with Germany’s operational principles. Addressing ethical concerns, he emphasized that AI would serve only as an advisory tool to facilitate human decision-making. “The task of taking analytical and balanced decisions will always remain with the human, with the soldier,” he said, adding that while a specific AI product is yet to be selected, the technology’s deployment is a priority. Freuding underscored the importance of aligning Germany’s AI systems with NATO’s evolving standards. He did not rule out a European-developed system, but said American solutions might offer practical advantages due to their advanced deployment. “Personally, I think it’s important that we get something up and running quickly. Of course, issues like data sovereignty and security need to be taken into account,” he added. The U.S. Army is fielding the AI tool Maven , made by the Silicon Valley company Palantir, to process battlefield data, including imagery and video, to improve situational awareness and speed up decision-making. Share: More In Europe Ukrainian drone strike on empty Baltic fuel depot prompts top-level resignation – in Latvia A Ukrainian official said Russia is spoofing Ukraine's drones, diverting them to strike nearby Baltic nations instead of targets in Russia. NATO nations size up an interceptor-drone bazaar where low price is everything A price point advantage is no longer measured in millions of dollars below the competition, but in mere thousands. Ukraine could lift arms-exports ban this year as would-be buyers line up Gulf countries threatened by Iran could be some of the first nations to buy Ukrainian air-defense technology at scale. Dutch startup Intelic sets up drone marketplace for European militaries BASE will allow defense ministries to explore systems that are ready to be used in a coalition framework, with interoperability guaranteed, says the firm. Drone diplomacy wins Ukraine valuable allies, but now it must deliver The Iran war has confirmed how central drones are to modern warfare and handed Zelenskiy a diplomatic trump card, analysts say.