Ryan McCarthy, secretary of the U.S. Army and a 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, said he hopes the results of the service branch’s recent “Project Convergence” experiment will inform future network modernization efforts.
The Army included artificial intelligence technologies such as the “Firestorm” reconnaissance system during a follow-up Project Convergence test that took place last week, the Army News Service reported Friday.
Brig. Gen. Ross Coffman, director of the Army's cross-functional team for next-generation combat vehicles, said the Army utilized F-35 Lightning II fighter jets during the experiment to transmit data to ground units at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.
Gen. James McConville, chief of staff at the Army, said the project serves as “a major step forward” in establishing the service's combat capabilities over the next four decades.
“We're looking for transformational change in the Army, not incremental improvements,” noted McCarthy.
"This may not only be the most important thing Army Futures Command works on, this may be the most important thing the Army is doing,” added Gen. John Murray, commander of the AFC and fellow 2020 Wash100 Award winner.
The Project Convergence exercises, which began last month, sought to test current joint all-domain combat technologies and an integrated tactical network including land, air and space sensors.
