NATO’s Joint Support and Enabling Command (JSEC) has recently put in place a next-generation data processing and simulation system built in close collaboration with artificial intelligence (AI) specialist Pathway, the company announced on 1 October 2024.
The Reinforcement Enablement Simulation Tool (REST) was developed by Pathway as a functional demonstrator to combine advanced data fusion, open-source information and military expertise to unlock new capabilities for critical-use cases at scale, thus increasing NATO’s ability to plan and execute military operations. REST has the ability to combine military data sources with the kind of open-source information – such as civil traffic alerts, social media alerts and press coverage – that is essential for the optimal planning and execution of military operations.
REST was most recently demonstrated during the JSEC exercise ‘Steadfast Foxtrot 2024’ (STFX24) held at Wilhelmsburg Barracks in Ulm, Germany, from 11 to 18 September. Composed of three separate wargames, STFX24 put a focus on JSEC’s core tasks of enablement, reinforcement by forces and sustainment.
Focusing on NATO’s Regional Defence Plans that were agreed during its 2023 Vilnius Summit, one of the wargames tested how NATO forces would defend different areas of the alliance, detailing the specific forces, capabilities and levels of readiness required. A second wargame tested JSEC’s reinforcement and sustainment network, while the third was a medical wargame that allowed JSEC and the STFX24 participants to exercise patient flow management processes within NATO during a conflict.
Having demonstrated REST at STFX24, Pathway says it has “developed the cornerstone for further development of AI-supported solutions to NATO”.
Major General Gerry Ewart-Brookes, JSEC Deputy Chief of Staff Plans, was quoted in a Pathway press release as saying, “Robust and innovative data processing technology such as delivered by Pathway unlocks new capabilities for critical use cases at scale.”
Major General Dirk Kipper, JSEC Deputy Chief of Staff Operations, added that the smart combination of NATO and open-source data will speed up situational awareness and bring it to the necessary level required to successfully operate in the 21st century.
