The Army Reprogramming Analysis Team (ARAT) is advancing an artificial intelligence system intended to swiftly generate code that modifies radio frequency (RF) waveforms. This innovation aims to shorten the time needed to reprogram RF devices in response to electronic threats, thereby improving battlefield survivability and operational capability. This effort aligns with the Army’s broader Transformation in Contact initiative.
Nicholaus Saacks, deputy to the commanding general at the Army’s Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM), emphasized that time is critical in electronic warfare scenarios. He explained that minimizing the window in which soldiers are vulnerable to electronic threats allows them to spend more time effectively completing their missions.
Currently in early prototyping, the AI-powered code generator integrates two main components: CECOM’s A.I. Flow and ARAT’s Simulation Modeling Framework, according to program officer Eric Bowes. The A.I. Flow tool, initially developed as an experimental project using Microsoft Azure Government’s open AI infrastructure, supports various tasks from administrative work to data analysis. Meanwhile, the Simulation Modeling Framework enables threat simulation and generates code to create RF waveforms compatible with devices like software-defined radios (SDRs).
The primary objective of waveform reprogramming is either to jam hostile communications or to make friendly signals undetectable. With the AI tool in place, soldiers will eventually be able to use voice or text input to generate the necessary code to adapt their devices’ waveforms in real-time.
“One of the ways to get around and expedite those timelines is to have it done right at the edge. Rather than having them try to develop code while they’re warfighting, it would certainly be much, much easier and much faster to simply say, ‘I need to degrade system X, and I have system Y, provide me a waveform or technique that can counter that, or that can identify that.”
This initiative took shape after the Army completed the second phase of its RF Data Pilot earlier this year. During that demonstration, soldiers were able to use the Simulation Modeling Framework to generate RF waveform code that successfully jammed a digital mobile radio, Bowes noted.
Following that success, ARAT and other electronic warfare elements within the Army began evaluating how to streamline and accelerate RF reprogramming even further. The urgency for such capabilities is informed in large part by tactical lessons drawn from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“What we’re seeing is, traditionally reprogramming cadence took weeks and months, and now we’re looking at hours and days as a result of those lessons learned from the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, and so it’s really kind of flipping everything on its head in terms of how we do things faster,” Bowes said.
Despite these promising developments, widespread deployment of the system is still some distance away. A.I. Flow must first secure an Authority to Operate (ATO)—a critical certification required before any system can function in sensitive operational environments, a process that typically spans several months. Nonetheless, the team remains optimistic that by leveraging collaborative efforts across various Army organizations and aligning with the Transformation in Contact framework, they can accelerate the tool’s rollout.