LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The U.S. Space Force is charting a new course in digital warfare, systematically integrating artificial intelligence to sharpen its decision-making and secure the ultimate high ground. Rather than a scattershot approach, the service is embracing a strategic, three-level framework to categorize and deploy AI capabilities, ensuring that every tool, from the mundane to the mission-critical, serves to enhance the Guardian’s edge.
This tiered model—Enterprise, Functional, and Mission-Specific AI—provides a clear roadmap for how the Space Force will partner with the commercial sector to leverage a staggering $300 billion in annual private AI investment for national defense.
Bartley Stewart, Space Systems Command’s Data and AI officer, outlined the strategy, emphasizing that the ultimate goal is not about adopting AI for its own sake, but about empowering faster, more accurate decisions across the force, mimicking the DoW AI Strategy in its intent to focus “in the national security domain, AI-enabled warfare and AI-enabled capability development” that “will re-define the character of military affairs over the next decade.”
“We talk about decisions being the most important thing that the government does,” Stewart said. “Whether it's a decision about what we buy, what we think the adversary is doing, or how we respond to emerging threats, it’s all about decision making.”
According to Stewart, AI is the key to mastering a critical triad for decision-makers: reducing the time it takes to make decisions, lowering the cognitive load on the decision maker, and increasing the certainty of the data that informs decision making.
“If we can improve any of those three factors by teaming humans with AI, then we improve decision quality,” he noted. “This leads to an asymmetric decision advantage.”
Level 1: Enterprise AI – The Digital Foundation
The first tier, Enterprise AI, consists of foundational, general-purpose tools that are universally accessible across the Department of War. Stewart compares this level to the essential software that comes standard on any computer.
“When you think about it, you turn on your computer and Word, Excel, PowerPoint are built into your system,” Stewart explained. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a journalist, a program manager, a scientist, or a contracting officer. You’re going to use these tools because they’re basic tools.”
An example of this is the "Gen. AI" platform recently rolled out by the Department of War (DoW), which serves as an enterprise-wide AI-powered offering. Foundational models are most commonly developed by a small number of large tech companies and cost hundreds of millions of dollars to train. They provide a common, secure baseline for a broad range of personnel to use and build on.
Level 2: Functional AI – Tools for the Trade
The second tier, Functional AI, is more specialized. These tools are designed for specific professional communities that share a common function, even if their individual roles differ.
“The most common function at Space Systems Command is acquisition,” Stewart offered as an example. “If you were at STARCOM, it might be the function of test and evaluation. If you're at Combat Forces Command, it might be the function of operations.”
These Level 2 systems often involve taking a powerful Level 1 foundational model and training it with specialized data. For instance, an acquisition-focused AI tool would be fed documents like the Federal Acquisition Regulation and the 5000 series policies—the same materials used to train its human counterparts. This creates a powerful assistant capable of streamlining complex procurement processes for personnel across the command.
Level 3: Mission-Specific AI – The Tip of the Spear
The third and most specialized tier is Mission-Specific AI. These are custom-built applications designed to solve a single, critical problem for a specific operational unit.
Examples could include an AI tool that analyzes launch indicators to enhance space domain awareness, or an application for a missile warning unit that can help operators instantly determine what type of missile they are tracking. These highly tailored tools directly support warfighting functions where speed and precision are paramount.
Stewart also highlighted AI's transformative potential to act as a "tool and die" shop for creating other advanced digital tools. “Using AI to make other tools—to develop the algorithm you need to do the thing, not necessarily using AI to do the thing—that’s where a lot of the power is,” he stated.
Becoming An AI-First Department
Echoing the department’s latest AI strategy, Stewart and his team are motivated to support collaboration and innovation within the workforce. “The time is now to accelerate AI integration,” the strategy says, providing “the full weight of the Department's leadership, resources, and expanding corps of private sector partners into accelerating America's Military AI Dominance” endeavors the SSC team to look ahead and at new and potential solutions.
As the Space Force continues to build its digital arsenal, this clear, three-tiered framework provides a disciplined method for harnessing the power of commercial innovation, ensuring that from the front office to the front lines, Guardians have the intelligent tools they need to secure and defend the Nation’s interests in space.
A version of this article originally appeared in Space Power News.