The character of warfare is changing fast – and much of that change is being driven by artificial intelligence. Across land, sea, air, cyber and space, AI is reshaping how commanders see the battlespace, weigh options and act under pressure.
Recently, the Financial Times explored this transformation, highlighting Hadean – a UDSS partner – and its AI-enabled command-and-control platform, dominAI, alongside insights from UDSS Co-Chair General Sir Richard Barrons KCB CBE.
A New Battlespace: Critical Infrastructure Under Threat
Modern defence is no longer confined to tanks, ships and aircraft. It extends to the underwater cables, data routes and digital systems that underpin economies and societies.
In November 2024, two key subsea cables in the Baltic – including the BCS East-West Interlink between Lithuania and Sweden, and C-Lion1 between Finland and Germany – were disrupted within hours of each other. This raised immediate concern among European governments about hybrid attacks and the vulnerability of critical undersea infrastructure.
Incidents like these underline a central challenge for defence planners:
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Vast volumes of civilian and military data now shape the operating picture.
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Threats can emerge quickly, often in ambiguous “grey zone” conditions.
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Decisions about whether, when and how to respond must be made at speed – but with strategic care.
This is the context in which platforms like dominAI are emerging.
dominAI: Fusing Data for Faster, Better Decisions
Hadean’s dominAI is designed as an AI-enabled command-and-control environment that can:
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Ingest data from multiple sources – such as maritime traffic, satellite feeds and open-source reporting – into a unified operational picture.
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Detect anomalies and potential threats, for example vessels behaving unexpectedly near critical infrastructure.
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Run rapid “what if” simulations of different courses of action, giving commanders evidence-based probabilities of success and risk.
Rather than simply displaying information, dominAI helps staff understand what it means and what might happen next.
That’s a fundamental shift: from traditional situational awareness tools toward decision-support engines that use AI to explore scenarios, stress-test responses and support escalation choices.
AI at the Heart of Targeting and Command
General Sir Richard Barrons – UDSS Co-Chair and one of the authors of the UK’s 2025 Strategic Defence Review – has consistently argued that AI is moving from the periphery of defence into its core.
In the FT piece, he stresses that AI will increasingly sit at the centre of the targeting and command process – not as a replacement for commanders, but as the connective tissue between sensors, effectors and people.
In practice, that means:
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Seeing more, sooner – combining ISR feeds, open-source intelligence and classified data.
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Understanding faster – using models to prioritise threats and discard noise.
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Acting with greater coherence – orchestrating drones, crewed platforms, cyber and electronic effects across domains.
For allies facing peer and near-peer competitors, this is not a luxury. It is becoming a requirement for deterrence, crisis management and, if necessary, sustained conflict.
From Gaming Engines to Defence-Grade Digital Twins
Hadean’s origins in large-scale gaming and simulation technology are not incidental – they are an asset. The same capability that once supported massive online games now powers defence-grade synthetic environments, where:
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Entire theatres can be modelled with high fidelity.
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Complex interactions between platforms, networks and infrastructure can be rehearsed.
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New concepts – such as drone swarms, manned–unmanned teaming or distributed logistics – can be tested safely before they are tried in the real world.
For UDSS, this aligns directly with our mission: helping governments and armed forces design, test and implement modern force structures and command architectures using realistic, evidence-based experimentation.
Balancing Speed, Mass and Judgment
The Financial Times article also touches on a critical tension: as autonomy spreads – from drones and unmanned ground vehicles to underwater systems – ethical and legal questions become more acute.
Key risks include:
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Automation bias – over-trusting machine outputs because they appear precise or authoritative.
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Action bias – feeling compelled to act simply because the system presents many “targets” or options.
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Compressed judgment – squeezing rich, contextual moral and legal considerations into simplified model outputs.
Experts in international humanitarian law have warned that human responsibility cannot be outsourced to algorithms; retaining context-appropriate human judgment is essential.
UDSS shares this view. AI and autonomy must strengthen responsible command, not erode it. That means building systems, doctrine and training that hard-wire:
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Clear human accountability and decision thresholds.
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Transparent model assumptions and limitations.
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Robust governance and oversight for AI use in operations.
How UDSS and Hadean Help Defence Clients
Together, UDSS and Hadean support governments, armed forces and industry partners to:
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Design AI-enabled command-and-control concepts that integrate platforms like dominAI into existing and future headquarters.
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Develop and test new operating concepts using large-scale synthetic environments – from defence of critical infrastructure to multi-domain operations.
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Modernise targeting and decision processes, ensuring that speed and “mass” from AI-enabled systems are matched by legal, ethical and political safeguards.
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Support capability planning and acquisition, aligning AI and simulation investments with Strategic Defence Reviews and long-term force development.
Our teams combine deep operational experience – from the strategic to the tactical level – with cutting-edge technology partners such as Hadean.
Looking Ahead
The move to AI-enabled command and control is already under way across NATO and allied forces. The question is no longer whether AI will influence the outcome of future conflicts – but how we choose to design, govern and employ it.
UDSS will continue working with partners like Hadean to ensure that:
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Commanders gain real advantage from AI in complex, contested environments.
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Critical infrastructure – including undersea cables and other national lifelines – is better understood and better protected.
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Human judgment remains central, even as machines help us see and decide more quickly.
🔗 You can read the Financial Times coverage of Hadean and dominAI here (subscription may be required):
https://www.ft.com/content/e6feb06e-2fef-4966-8dde-a97df69dce52
If you would like to explore how UDSS and Hadean can support your next phase of defence modernisation, please get in touch with the UDSS team.
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