AI ON THE

FRONTLINE:
REVOLUTIONISING
DEFENCE AND INDUSTRY

Discover how artificial

intelligence is transforming
national security and reshaping
the defence industry.

AI in national security Demystifying AI AI on tomorrow’s battlefield Protecting your sensitive data

Defence Connect e-Series: AI on the frontline Contents 02

Contents

03 05 10 15
AI in national security Demystifying AI AI on tomorrow’s battlefield Protecting your sensitive data
Defence Connect e-Series: AI on the frontline Introduction 03

Welcome
Such game-changing uses of artificial
intelligence (AI) have likewise been seen
in the cyber domain, helping attackers
find zero-day exploits – those unknown
attack vectors that malicious actors
try to uncover to gain access to your
TOMORROW’S BATTLEFIELD may very well organisation’s systems – before deploying
be unrecognisable to the modern eye. an AI-generated code to shut it down.

Case in point, a growing cohort of nations There’s no doubt that AI will revolutionise
have invested heavily in developing how Australian businesses operate, and
drone swarm capabilities to overwhelm how Australian workers do business. But
enemy air defence and command and the key lies in understanding just how one
control systems. can correctly harness artificial intelligence.

Once a hypothetical adversary, large, Oftentimes, business leaders have

interconnected networks of autonomous become slow to adopt artificial intelligence
– concerned over the impact of
vehicles are no longer confined to the
hallucinations on work products. Though
margins of a science fiction novel but have
expert after expert have reiterated that
featured, with great effect, on modern
just like a weapons system, artificial
urban and littoral battlefields to gather
intelligence needs a human in the loop.
essential intelligence, surveillance and
reconnaissance on enemy movements. At its core, AI can routinise manual and
Defence Connect e-Series: AI on the frontline Introduction 04

laborious tasks – from helping a cyber Further, I would also like to acknowledge
security team to separate the real Andrew Wilson from Advent Atum,
breaches from the false positives to who shared how artificial intelligence
supporting target identification. It enables and automation are combining to
business, security and defence leaders to identify, track and engage threats on the
better allocate their human resources and modern battlefield.
make better data-driven decisions. And finally, Hrvoje (Hal) Hančević-Grabić,
And it is on this note that it was a director of IT Strategy Hub, who gave
pleasure to collaborate with some of the timely considerations over the use of
proprietary information on large language
AI industry’s foremost thought leaders
models by public and private entities – and
to develop this first of its kind e-book,
how businesses can mitigate the risk of
helping professionals in the defence
their sensitive information being used to
industry gain critical insight on emerging
train other AI systems.
AI technologies.
Enjoy the e-book.
I would like to acknowledge the support
of Sean Pereira, chief executive officer
of Analytical Progression, who sat down
with the team at Defence Connect to
demystify artificial intelligence and give Liam Garman
a glimpse into how AI will transform the Managing editor
defence industry. Defence and Aerospace
Defence Connect e-Series: AI on the frontline Sponsored by Analytical Progression 05

Our next great

inflection point:
The future of AI and
Defence
Throughout human history, civilisation and our capacity to
progress has been driven by several key technological inflection
points. From the advent of the wheel and agriculture through to
the printing press, flight and nuclear energy, technology has been
an intrinsic part of the human story.
Defence Connect e-Series: AI on the frontline Sponsored by Analytical Progression 06

connective tissue of physical and platforms through concerns

WHETHER FROM the earliest metal digital infrastructure that enables about the weaponisation of
weapons through to the dawn of contemporary militaries to conduct artificial intelligence.
the gunpowder age, to submarines their missions.
However, one of the most
and nuclear weapons, technological
Highlighting the impact of this is often overlooked and
inflection points have equally rewritten
Sean Pereira, CEO of Analytical underappreciated
the rules of and ways humanity has
Progression, who explains the areas where artificial
waged war.
wide-reaching impact of artificial intelligence will truly
Humanity is rapidly approaching its intelligence, saying, “The advent and be transformative is in
next great technological inflection rise of artificial intelligence is here as the aforementioned,
point, the rise of artificial intelligence a shift change and inflection point “connective tissue”
(AI), which has the potential for truly for humanity. And further to that, it networks that enable
transformative outcomes for every is a shift change from the consumer resilient, sustained and
aspect of life. to private industry to government credible military power.
for everyone.”
The myriad of contemporary warfare This is largely the
domains certainly won’t escape the While there is well known and well- case for a host
transformational touch of artificial documented concerns about the of areas, ranging
intelligence and the proliferation proliferation and integration of from data analysis,
of increasingly complex and widely artificial intelligence into more intelligence, surveillance
fielded artificial intelligence, the “traditional” types of military and reconnaissance missions,
same can also be said for the equipment, like air, land and naval cyber security, all the way through
Defence Connect e-Series: AI on the frontline Sponsored by Analytical Progression 07

to seemingly mundane tasks like Importantly, these technologies Further unpacking the impact of
managing workforce utilisation can navigate, make decisions artificial intelligence, specifically
These areas where and workflows, and even logistics,
which are becoming increasingly
and even engage in combat with machine learning on these
“connective tissue” capabilities
minimal human intervention and
you’re seeing AI critical when the Australian Defence pose significantly less risk about the and the role it can play in easing the
and the filtration Force is struggling to meet its
recruitment targets.
weaponisation concerns of critical burden on niche workforces, like
those in the intelligence and data
defence capabilities.
of its application For Pereira, these complex
analysis domains, Pereira says, “AI
is very, very
Pereira adds, “If you think about can provide a significant leg up
environments are at the centre of it, warfighting is the last resort we when it comes to helping me to
exciting across Analytical Progression’s mission and
business focus, with Pereira posing
want to get to. There are all these analyse the chain of information,

the defence
things where we can be a lot smarter where the information lives and
a poignant question, saying, “AI and a lot more optimised that aren’t through things like machine
enterprise.” starts to lend itself into how we can
arrive at automating processes. How
necessarily the tip of the spear, learning, can present detailed
but add to our combat weight, and analysis in real time providing critical
Sean Pereira can we streamline workflows? How that’s the tip of the iceberg for the decision overmatch.”
CEO of Analytical Progression could we start to apply intelligent applications of artificial intelligence in
thinking with regards to simulating the defence environment. Given the increasingly digital-
human learning or comprehension or centric nature of contemporary
decision making, arrive at inferences “These areas where you’re seeing military capabilities, cyber
within the vast operational and AI and the filtration of its application security is another area where
business context that Defence is very, very exciting across the artificial intelligence is emerging
actually has?” defence enterprise,” Pereira says. in to provide significant capability
Defence Connect e-Series: AI on the frontline Sponsored by Analytical Progression 08

in the Australian warfighter’s recognition capacity of artificial

toolbox outside of the traditional intelligence to detect a host of
warfighting domains. anomalies in network behaviour
indicative of cyber attacks; in
This is particularly useful in
doing so, it also serves to ease
counteracting the growing number
the cognitive burden on the
of sophisticated cyber attacks,
cyber warfighter.
which have increasingly evolved to
utilise AI to circumvent traditional Leveraging the power of machine
cyber defences. learning-enabled models builds on
As with every “sword” and “shield” this, allowing a human warfighter
development in the domains of to leverage historic attack data
conflict, where the “sword” has to provide cyber warriors with
developed an initial advantage over an additional arrow in the quiver,
the “shield”, machine learning- allowing them to mitigate threats
enabled artificial intelligence with increasing precision and the
is tipping the balance back in bonus of taking pressure off the
the favour of the “shield” and human warfighter.
mitigating emerging vulnerabilities in
This leads into the ever-increasing
cyber defences.
analytical power of artificial
The utilisation of machine learning intelligence and the role it can play
leverages the significant pattern in supporting decision making at
Defence Connect e-Series: AI on the frontline Sponsored by Analytical Progression 09

both tactical and strategic levels, a range of inputs, analyse it in real look to not just how the AI industry is
serving as another powerful time and present coherent factors responding to the myriad of changes
reminder of the artificial intelligence for decision makers’ consideration taking place in the world of artificial
inflection point transforming the and response.” intelligence but how the broader
future of Defence. economy is, how broader society is
Importantly though, Defence isn’t
responding to the increasing proliferation
In simulated wargames, AI can entering this inflection point on its
of artificial intelligence to avoid the pitfalls
process vast amounts of data to own. This is far removed from the
and embrace the opportunities.” To learn more about
suggest optimal strategies and historic inflection points where
Analytical Progression,
outcomes, which helps defence military applications have often As humanity continues to travel towards click here.
planners assess various scenarios, firmly entrenched defence and the climax of the artificial intelligence
test new strategies and better national security at the cutting edge inflection point, AI’s integration into
understand potential threats. of these inflection points. defence is reshaping the landscape of
At the strategic level, AI assists Recognising this, it is important modern warfare, with implications that
policymakers in understanding that Defence embrace the lessons extend far beyond the battlefield.
complex international relations, currently being learned across
This civilisational inflection point
economic indicators and other the wider economic, industrial
underscores the need for responsible
factors that may influence military and societal areas to avoid being
development, international cooperation,
or diplomatic actions. left behind in this next great
and forward-looking policies to ensure
inflection point.
Pereira adds, “It is the capacity of that AI not only enhances human
artificial intelligence to consume Pereira explains the importance of security without compromising our
large volumes of information across this, saying, “I think Defence should values, but also improves human life.
Defence Connect e-Series: AI on the frontline Sponsored by Advent Atum 10

HORAS: Identifying,
tracking and engaging
threats on tomorrow’s
battlefield
Whether in Ukraine or the Middle East, the modern battlefield
has become cluttered with numerous cheap uncrewed systems.
Whether gathering intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance
data or delivering deadly payloads, traditional radar and defence
systems have become overwhelmed – and only artificial
intelligence can be trusted to keep soldiers and civilians safe.
Defence Connect e-Series: AI on the frontline Sponsored by Advent Atum 11

map and engage targets before they’ve

THE PROOF is in the pudding. In had the opportunity to deliver their
September, the British government deadly payloads, all while keeping the
revealed that Russia launched 1,300 human supervising the engagement.
kamikaze drones towards Ukraine,
HORAS is set to be a game changer
targeting critical infrastructure and
for modern militaries. This AI-enabled
placing immense pressure on the
capability can be integrated into
nation’s air defence systems. With
both traditional and next-generation
traditional anti-aircraft capabilities
military hardware to undertake fully or
requiring up to five users to operate,
it showed, without doubt, that allied semi-autonomous targeting of enemy
militaries need to leverage new capabilities, from remote weapons
and cutting-edge technologies to stations to anti-aircraft guns, missile
overcome the risk of drone swarms and systems or even loitering munition
missile barrages. ground control units

One solution is to fuse artificial To understand just how HORAS can

intelligence with ballistics and undertake immediate, accurate and
command and control systems, decisive action, Defence Connect
enabling militaries to rapidly engage editor Liam Garman sat down with
threats while at a distance. These chief executive officer of Advent
fire control systems, such as Advent Atum Andrew ‘Andy’ Wilson to
Atum’s HORAS TDE, sight, identify, discuss the company’s HORAS TDE
Defence Connect e-Series: AI on the frontline Sponsored by Advent Atum 12

(Threat Detection and Engagement) “This intelligent fire-control system is

This intelligent fire-control system is system and gain exclusive insight end to end, from target identification

end to end, from target identification into how this capability will transform
tomorrow’s battlefield.
– which can be conducted at distance
using computer vision and without
– which can be conducted at Andy Wilson highlighted that HORAS
the need for laser range finders –
through to determining an engagement
distance using computer vision and relies on cooperative engagement sequence for the threat via the data
without the need for laser range between distributed systems.
Synchronisation between systems
management system.

finders – through to determining an means that when one HORAS unit “All that’s left to do is for the human to
authorise or take control of the HORAS’
engagement sequence for the threat identifies a risk, it can cue other
connected platforms to engage it – engagement solution.”
via the data management system.” meshing traditional military assets into The capabilities were recently on
a single networked defence. display during a series of live-fire
Andrew “Andy” Wilson
Chief executive officer of Advent Atum development trials in mid-2024, where
“The HORAS is a software-enabled
HORAS-integrated remote weapons
hardware system that can be distributed
systems successfully engaged moving
across a battlegroup. Every platform
drones out to several hundred metres.
has its own intelligence to engage
targets itself, or provide intelligence, Amazingly, the sovereign capability does
surveillance and reconnaissance to not rely on foreign technology, providing
other systems to form a shield,” Andy a local solution to improve the safety and
Wilson told Defence Connect. security of Australia and its partners.
Defence Connect e-Series: AI on the frontline Sponsored by Advent Atum 13

To Andy Wilson, the system is an four systems instead of one person

affordable and easy way to network managing one system.”
disparate assets on the battlefield,
Nowhere will such capabilities be more
protecting users and generating large-
impactful than on the battlefield in
scale effects.
Ukraine, which is testing the limits of
“Militaries still rely on different current air defence systems in the face
components or systems, which means of large, networked swarms.
when you try to put them together, it
In addition to demonstrating the
comes with one big price tag. What system for the Australian Army, Advent
HORAS does is provide an end-to-end Atum also recently partnered with the
solution that completely automates Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) through
a weapon’s platform in concert with Brave One, AFU’s defence innovation
other allied assets, which is key if arm, to modernise city defence.
you want to have scalable battlefield
effects with less humans on the “Let’s take Ukraine as an example of
battlefield,” he said. how networked military assets will
be critical on the modern and future
“Not only will this keep Australian and battlefields. What protects the cities
allied warfighters out of harm’s way, in Ukraine are mobile firing units. For
but it will enable humans to be better example, the Bucha Witches, staffed
allocated on the modern battlefield, primarily by women, use pickup trucks
allowing one person to manage armed with anti-aircraft guns and
Defence Connect e-Series: AI on the frontline Sponsored by Advent Atum 14

drive around shooting down drones and The company hopes to use the systems haven’t really changed much
missiles,” Andy Wilson said. funding to further develop and technologically since the early ‘90s, and
commercialise their technology, and we’re here to disrupt that status quo.”
“Instead of needing a four or five-man
realise its objective of revolutionising
crew, we now have the opportunity to Though the company has secured their
the defence technology landscape
automate the weapons platforms. As a funding and expanded their presence
through the development of
result, they’ll only need one or two per internationally, Advent Atum shows no
artificial intelligence-enabled
vehicle instead of five.” sign of slowing down. In September
military technology.
2024, the company announced that it
Not only is the Ukrainian government To learn more about
Speaking on the announcement, Andy launched its Mandjet loitering munition
placing their trust in the system, but so are Advent Atum, click here.
Wilson welcomed the opportunity to during the Army Innovation Day.
investors. In August, it was revealed that
disrupt the status quo.
the company secured nearly $2 million in The new system leverages the
an oversubscribed fundraising round, led “Let’s not beat around the bush – this company’s in-development HORAS
by Phase Alpha and supported by ARQ investment is a game changer for Terminal Guidance System with
Capital, Archangel Consulting, Billfolda us. Our technology is making waves KillerBees Industries’ HIVE mind
Venture and Banksia. because it is showing promising technology to deliver a versatile, tactical
results in its early days, plain and solution that can be used to support the
In this case, success leaves clues. Even
simple,” he said. Australian Army in littoral environments.
before the fundraiser, Advent Atum
had already made significant strides in “We’re here to shake up the defence With military assets seeing a once-
developing HORAS, having taken the industry, and with the backing of these in-a-generation technological
capability from Technology Readiness Level investors, we’re more than ready to transformation, Advent Atum and
3 to TRL 5 on a budget of just $75,000. deliver on that promise. Fire control HORAS stand at the forefront.
Defence Connect e-Series: AI on the frontline Sponsored by IT Strategy Hub 15

AI is transforming
industry, but are various
AI providers posing a
security, privacy or IP risk
for your organisation?
It is undeniable – artificial intelligence has allowed private and
government organisations to drive efficiency, streamline research
and even overcome staff shortages. However, uploading
sensitive information to AI platforms or to products which use
them in the back end for reasoning is creating a new era of
defence and business risk, Hrvoje (Hal) Hančević-Grabić, founder
and director of IT Strategy Hub, tells Defence Connect.
Defence Connect e-Series: AI on the frontline Sponsored by IT Strategy Hub 16

(OVIC) revealed it had received a report of The US banned the use of Microsoft
“IN ORDER to make a good AI model, a Child Protection worker using ChatGPT Copilot in the US Congress in March 2024
you need data to train it on,” IT Strategy to draft court documents. Co-workers and complex new solutions are now being
Hub’s Hrvoje (Hal) Hančević-Grabić tells alleged that personal information, put in place to make it more accessible.
Defence Connect editor Liam Garman. including the child’s name, were uploaded Some Australian departments also had
“So, if you’re inputting intellectual onto the AI platform. concerns about it. This does not mean
property, business ideas, PII, or even you should not use it, but you will need to
In general, all information collected on an
classified data onto some AI platform, consider and implement AI strategy.
AI platform can be assimilated and used
will the company respect your privacy?
to refine future answers. Simply, as the Placing data in the hands of AI providers
Maybe. Will they have to collect logs?
OVIC stated in its report: “OpenAI now and overseas data centres thus
Almost certainly. Therefore, it matters
holds that information and can determine sometimes presents an acute risk for
who is behind it.”
how it is further used and disclosed.” Australian businesses, government
Concerns over the use of sensitive or departments and, of course, individuals,
The Office of the Australian Information
even classified information uploaded onto Hančević-Grabić tells Defence Connect,
Commissioner has provided extensive
generative AI platforms have dominated although undoubtedly, some solutions are
guidance on using data on AI platforms
headlines since OpenAI’s ChatGPT
in October 2024 considering privacy, but coming up. It is important to understand
launched in 2022, though businesses and
also on related matters such as the need that most of these companies are US
government departments up-and-down
for disclosure and much more. It is not companies, therefore fully sovereign
the country have been slow to listen.
acceptable just to use it irresponsibly. This providers for them, but for everyone else,
Case in point, in September, the Office of is also clearly opening a path to liabilities, this means either giving up some of the
the Victorian Information Commissioner something no board should ignore. control or complex regulation.
Defence Connect e-Series: AI on the frontline Sponsored by IT Strategy Hub 17

“For example, let’s say your organisation foreign adversaries or even just interests can run on their own hardware or on
developed a brilliant solution to a complex accessing the data, an extremely infrastructure-as-a-service cloud which is
“Data sovereignty problem. Once you upload any of these important factor for countries in which located in Australia. Hopefully, we will see
ideas onto an AI platform, AI could be data centres are governed by weaker a fully Australian-owned AI provider soon.
was always retrained on it. If your competitors thus data privacy regulations, raising the risk of
something that I’ve
Building an AI platform is simpler than
explore the problem, it may very well unauthorised access.
building a cloud. The difference in
suggest similar solutions to them.”
been promoting – Sovereign AI ensures that countries features between local clouds versus
The solution, according to the expert, lies
even before there
can also develop bespoke security feature-rich hyperscalers like Microsoft,
in leveraging private and sovereign AI. architectures to meet their unique needs. Amazon or Google is vast, but for AI
was a business Indeed, the United States, New Zealand, An interesting opportunity for Australia platforms, these differences would
Japan, France, India and Italy are just
there. I will continue
and Australian businesses is to help be much less significant for moderate
a handful of countries investing in their countries in the Indo-Pacific which lack workloads, providing an excellent
doing that for AI.” own sovereign AI infrastructure through infrastructure or regulatory framework to opportunity for our businesses. Of
partnership with AI chip giant Nvidia. develop their own or to provide it for them. course, these are just platforms offering
Hrvoje (Hal) Hančević-Grabić web user interface or application
Founder and director of IT Strategy Hub What is private and sovereign AI, Meanwhile, private AI represents closed
programming interface access, rather
exactly? and tailored AI solutions that can be
than fully integrated solutions like
With sovereign AI, data centres and/ exclusively used by an organisation.
Microsoft Copilot, however, there are
or AI platforms that store sensitive This enables an organisation to upload
other solutions to complement that.
information remain located in-country. proprietary or sensitive information
Ideally, this involves the ownership and without concern that competitors These are both in stark contrast to
control as well. This mitigates the risk of can gain access to it. These solutions public AI providers, being the go-to for
Defence Connect e-Series: AI on the frontline Sponsored by IT Strategy Hub 18

many employees. Hančević-Grabić tells whole new layer on top of just cyber
Defence Connect that the absence of governance. For example, this now
internal AI governance and planning are involves things like AI model biases
thus risking businesses, as they rush into and similar. But principles from the
the world of artificial intelligence without cyber perspectives have not changed
proper safeguards. You probably should much and there is no need to wait for
never be against a particular solution, AI regulation to implement them over
but to use it based on what is fit for AI solutions.
the purpose. “Before you use AI in your business, you
“The employee would come to work, need to have answers for the following:
copy text from a file with names, details, Where is the data? Who has it? Who has
intellectual property and just paste it the access to it? Can it leak? Can you
delete it? Can you delete all instances of
in an AI platform to help it do the work
it if you choose to do so? Who has access
without company’s knowledge,” he says.
to logs?
The expert has observed that
“That is the difference between private
traditional cyber security concepts
and public AI. In private, you have that
can be translated to develop internal AI
control at all times.”
governance from the cyber perspective,
in turn keeping business information These questions have prompted
safe. We can already see the rise in governments to expedite the
AI governance overseas, which is a development of sovereign or private
Defence Connect e-Series: AI on the frontline Sponsored by IT Strategy Hub 19

AI capabilities, building infrastructure, access to the data or even turning it off,” The IT Strategy Hub’s Private AI
consolidating data and developing a he says. Toolkit
national AI workforce. As businesses and government
“That leaves any system – from hospitals to
departments continue to navigate the
Can’t I just partner with public defence – suddenly inoperable.”
world of artificial intelligence, Hančević-
AI providers and overseas data
However, safeguarding your organisation Grabić has developed a solution that allows
centres?
While Australian businesses or with private AI need not be an organisations to grasp the benefits of AI
government can place contractual insurmountable task. while keeping their sensitive information
To learn more about
standards on who is able to access the safe and in-house. IT Strategy Hub, click here.
“If you’re looking to use artificial intelligence to
information stored in foreign-owned local
analyse data, generate insights, find threats, “We have an AI Toolkit, which is getting
or overseas data centres or clouds, the AI
check legal documentation, you don’t need a a bit of attention. It contains many
expert notes that this approach still gives
data-rich model that has agent access to the simple to use productivity tools that help
away some control.
broader internet for information,” the expert organisations analyse information to
“We can have data residency clauses tells Defence Connect. overcome challenges that they might be
that put in certain rules when we work facing. Already, we’ve been approached by
with overseas companies running “You don’t necessarily need to train the
several local and international companies.
workloads locally, which can restrict model with a constant flow of information.
certain overseas citizens having At the moment, there are more than 1 million “Data sovereignty was always something
access to the data. However, you still available open-source models which are that I’ve been promoting – even before
run the risk of a company president, freely downloadable and you can pick the one there was a business there. I will continue
CEO or board members requesting the that suits you or fine-tune it to your needs.” doing that for AI.”
www.defenceconnect.com.au