AI that delivers: how Striveworks helps Forces see, decide and act faster

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Complexity, speed and constant change define modern conflict. To stay ahead, defence organisations are gathering more data than ever-but the real challenge is turning that data into timely, meaningful understanding.

For Striveworks CEO and co-founder Jim Rebesco, this is exactly where artificial intelligence is already proving its worth. AI is not a distant or abstract concept; it is a practical operational tool being leveraged today to strengthen situational awareness and support faster, more confident decision-making on the modern battlefield.

Building an AI-ready force

Unlocking the full potential of AI in military applications requires closing key gaps in practical adoption. According to Rebesco, who leads the cutting-edge Austin, Texas-headquartered AI firm, four areas matter most:

1. Cloud-native, but not cloud-dependent.

AI capabilities must run across enterprise, edge and contested environments. European forces routinely operate in Disconnected, Intermittent and Limited (DIL) and Denied, Degraded, Intermittent and Limited (DDIL) conditions, which means AI systems must be portable, resilient and deployable wherever data is generated.

"You need to bring AI to where the users are," Rebesco explained. "As we've seen in the Russian-Ukrainian war, battlefields evolve constantly. Models must be able to optimise, retrain, and incorporate new data at operational tempo."

2. Treating data as a strategic resource.

Data must be discoverable, accessible and governed to standards of quality and availability. Without this foundation, even the most advanced models cannot generate reliable output.

3. Enabling continuous adaptation without excessive engineering.

Real-world feedback is essential for AI to improve, but warfighters cannot be burdened with manual labelling or technical workflows.

"Now, user interactions within normal tasks generate the feedback signals models need," Rebesco noted. "This ensures outputs stay accurate, safe and constantly improving. Closing that loop is central to the value Striveworks provides."

4. Applying AI responsibly.

Commanders must understand the strengths and limitations of AI systems to ensure appropriate employment in line with doctrine, ethics and policy.

"Commanders need outcomes and tools that deliver," Rebesco says. "If you can help them understand what's happening in real time, identify threats faster and cut through noise, then AI becomes indispensable."

Boosting situational awareness at speed

Situational awareness is now a multi-sensor, multi-domain challenge-and the human ability to process information at speed is increasingly strained. AI serves as a force multiplier for sensing, fusing and interpreting the battlespace.

Capabilities such as Automated Target Recognition (ATR), Automated Battle Damage Assessment (BDA), agentic automation and predictive logistics are already running on Striveworks' technology suite.

"AI is what allows you to fuse all the sensors into one system," Rebesco said. "It reduces cognitive burden, removes blind spots and gives commanders a clearer, more accurate picture for faster threat detection and better-informed decisions."

When operators can instantly understand intent, classification and risk-without manually stitching together multiple feeds-mission planning and real-time responses alike become faster and safer.

"It can alert you when something doesn't look right, or when sensors disagree. That's where trust starts to build."

No one has a monopoly on AI

"Everyone is moving fast. We don't have a monopoly on AI. No one does," Rebesco cautioned. "There's an illusion of choice when people ask, 'Should we adopt AI?' You have to adopt it. The question is whether you use it safely, responsibly and effectively."

This dynamic is evident in Ukraine, where both sides deploy open-source models, commercial drones and improvised ISR tools at scale. Value dictates survival: tools that work are kept; tools that do not are replaced within weeks.

"People are iterating in weeks, not years," Rebesco noted. "Availability is no longer the issue. The conversation now is about reliability and governance."

This rapid pace places a premium on trust-trust in the models, the workflows and the outputs.

"Using AI on the battlefield is about confidence," Rebesco added. "Operators need tools they trust in high-pressure situations."

Trust enables speed and scale

Transparency, predictability and built-in guardrails are essential-but nothing builds trust like putting AI directly into the hands of operators.

"Trust is everything," Rebesco emphasised. "If a commander doesn't understand why the system reached a conclusion, they won't use it. And if they won't use it, the quality of the model doesn't matter."

Striveworks' user-centred approach is helping defence organisations across Europe move from experimentation to structured deployment. Verification and validation are now routine, and AI is increasingly augmenting multi-domain decision chains across NATO allies.

"What's encouraging is that we're seeing real adoption in Europe," Rebesco said. "There's a seriousness about getting AI right-making it robust, governable and accountable. That's what ultimately enables scale."

An agentic future

As the strategic environment evolves, AI systems will need to adapt just as quickly. Defence organisations that can retrain, redeploy and govern models at speed will sustain the advantage. Agentic AI will play a central role.

"The future is agentic," Rebesco predicted. "Instead of one AI tool doing one job, you'll have a suite of agents interacting-monitoring feeds, analysing sensor data, tasking platforms, surfacing anomalies and presenting decisions. It's a fundamental leap in capability."

Humans will remain the moral and strategic centre of decision-making, but agentic systems will provide the speed, consistency and foresight required for modern operations.

Conclusion

As the pace of conflict accelerates, AI becomes the mechanism through which defence and security teams maintain situational awareness, protect forces, counter emerging threats and operate at a tempo human cognition alone cannot sustain.

"With fully operationalised AI, the battlespace will become more transparent, more connected and increasingly powered by intelligent, agentic systems that help commanders outthink, outrange and outmanoeuvre their adversaries, Rebesco said.

For more information please visit:
https://striveworks.com