Thales’ DigitalCrew enables the modern soldier to fight faster & smarter through integration of AI & technology

In 1888 a company called Barr & Stroud, now Thales, developed the first Optical Rangefinder for the British Army.

Over a century later, technologies like AI, machine learning and advanced sensors are converging to transform huge swathes of society, including warfare.

We may look back on the 2020s as a pivotal decade – the moment optronics and sighting systems redefined the battlefield and helped to treble the lethality of 75,000 soldiers by 2030.

A clear vision for a complex future
This goal from CGS is as unambiguous as it is ambitious; as urgent as it is necessary. The question is, how will we achieve this?

As multi-domain operations grow in importance and complexity, modern systems, sensors, and integrated AI capabilities are altering the very nature of how wars are fought. Soldiers on the ground face increasingly nuanced threats. The sheer volume of data available in modern warfare means that the race is no longer just about detection – it’s about the ability to rapidly process that data, analyse it, and act on it faster than the enemy. To shorten friendly OODA loops while overwhelming and disrupting an adversary’s.

We can give soldiers this critical edge through advanced optronics and sophisticated sighting systems. We can maintain it by designing, developing, and delivering such capabilities to the frontline in time. We can guarantee it – in any environment, from any platform – by being guided by a central tenet: systems that work well in isolation can achieve even greater results when combined.

Making the whole greater than the sum of the parts
Integrating disparate technologies on the frontline means we can get more from the system, and more for the soldier – a price recouped not only in seconds and dollars shaved, but also lives saved.

Imagine this same soldier sat in an armoured vehicle, watchful and well-protected. Augmented with a Panoramic Above Armour Gimbal (PAAG), they can stay safe, see more and gain a detailed view of the battlefield. Sense. Add DigitalCrew^® to the loop and you’ve got human-machine teaming done right. Suddenly they have a second pair of eyes – eyes in the back of her head; eyes that can see further, faster, and eyes that never get tired. Process. Analyse.

With less to think about and more time to respond, that soldier becomes as powerful – and lethal – as three. Decide. Act.

DigitalCrew^®: domain, platform and sensor-agnostic AI for reduced cognitive burden and enhanced situational awareness. It assists soldiers in armoured vehicles, enhancing and augmenting what they are able to ‘see’ through their sensors and alerting them to what is different, dangerous, or of interest.




The hidden power behind the screens
It’s no coincidence that DigitalCrew^® comprises a suite of algorithms – an alchemical blend of models and methods that, as with the systems they’re enhancing, work well in isolation but better together.

In the context of seeing more, staying safe, moving fast and acting first, conventional object detection and tracking algorithms can identify and monitor potential threats. More advanced AI based algorithms can then augment this information by classifying and prioritising those objects to increase the likelihood of successful engagement. Useful on their own – but when combined, these algorithms create a vastly more powerful system capable of handling complex, fast-moving scenarios.

Put into practice, DigitalCrew^® can detect and track a rapidly-advancing DJI Mavic, distinguishing its direction and speed using all of the sensor feeds available to it. It can then deliver that information to the soldier in the armoured vehicle with near-zero latency: a level of real-time situational awareness that could mean the difference between life and death.

Able to be trained to distinguish a multitude of battlefield objects, DigitalCrew^® can also classify objects and warn the soldier of unusual activity. For example, it can identify a Main Battle Tank that appears in the distance of a sensor’s feed – and warn the operator of its approach. DigitalCrew^® is continuously monitoring, even if the operator is not.

Upcoming mission support tools such as Threat Prioritisation augment the system – and the soldier – further. Using data from Object Detection, Video Combination and AI-powered Object Classification algorithms, each potential target is assessed based on target type (such as MBT, AFV, Commercial Vehicle, UAV, and UGV.) and behaviour (moving away or towards the host platform).

The people behind the technology
Under fire, under pressure, under constant surveillance – for the soldier in the armoured vehicle, systems that can provide them with clarity and confidence to make the right decision could make all the difference.

Because at the heart of this technological revolution lies a simple truth: technology, no matter how advanced, does not win wars. People do.

The Army knows this. After all, the Army is its people. If the goal is to make it three times more lethal within half a decade, we must first hone those at the "sharp end" – the individual soldier and the nucleus of all this technological change. This is technology in service of that person. As hardware and software suppliers, as Primes and SMEs, as system integrators and start-ups, we must never forget this.

Our job, then, is clear: to combine our expertise and integrate our technologies into something greater than the sum of the parts. Into something that makes soldiers greater tomorrow than they are today, and greater today than they were yesterday.

DigitalCrew^® – in combination with PAAG – is an example of Thales successfully deploying AI at the edge. We achieve this by leveraging our deep defence domain expertise and our understanding of sensor performance and the resulting data to overcome the challenges of working in this most challenging of environments.

www.thalesgroup.com