Benefits of AI for Increasing Readiness

In the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), “readiness” refers to the ability of the military forces to quickly and efficiently deploy resources to perform and complete assigned missions at any time. Readiness encompasses various areas of activity including personnel training, equipment maintenance, supply availability, and overall unit preparedness to execute their designated functions effectively.

Benefits of AI for Increasing Readiness

Military readiness is the cornerstone of success in national defense. When every area of our military forces are constantly prepared to meet advancing threats, it deters potential adversaries, enhances national security, and ensures swift and decisive action during a crisis.

“We need the best systems in the hands of warfighters … to deter [and] send the signal that, when the fight comes, we’re ready to win and win decisively,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a 2025 town hall at the Pentagon.

Ensuring the mission readiness of our military assets and personnel starts with having the right information to make strategic decisions. However, military leaders are experiencing decision distress by the growing number of data sources and pressure to utilize conflicting analytics in their decision-making. The variety of events and data available is too much for humans to manage alone. Leaders need answers driven by efficient and trustworthy AI, that enable them to predict future trends, identify potential risks, and find opportunities for efficiency in all areas of defense operations.

Incorporating AI into your readiness strategy is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. AI allows military leaders to leverage significant resources faster than ever and produce profound effects such as:

• Streamlined operational efficiency
• Improved workforce preparedness
• Enhanced risk management
• Optimized inventory management
• Strengthened decision-making with Explainable AI

Streamlined Operational Efficiency

Operational efficiency is key to being prepared for both opportunities and setbacks. AI can integrate and analyze data across units and departments, breaking down silos that often hinder decision-making. This provides efficiency in executing missions and effectiveness in resource use.

For example, the AI can sift through historical maintenance data to spot trends and connections that help airfleet maintainers proactively put resources in place to stop mechanical failures from occurring.

Improved Workforce Preparedness

People are at the heart of military readiness. AI platforms can improve workforce planning by analyzing human performance insights, identifying skills gaps, predicting future personnel shortages, and recommending training programs tailored to each individual.

AI can also be leveraged to automate the scheduling of tasks and allocate resources based on availability and expertise. The system can generate, prioritize, and assign work orders based on real-time resource constraints, historical trends, and impact on uptime. These capabilities ensure that military personnel are always ready to tackle new challenges, adapt to changes, and maintain productivity.

Enhanced Risk Management

Risk management is central to maintaining readiness in unpredictable times. AI’s ability to analyze complex datasets and identify patterns makes it an invaluable tool for predicting and mitigating risks. Furthermore, the algorithms don’t just process historical data, they learn from them, which also helps improve their predictions over time.

For example, AI systems process data from multiple sources to build a picture of the battlefield. This provides improved situational awareness and scenario modelling that enables better decision-making and a faster response to emerging threats.

Optimized Inventory Management

AI can track demand of materiel inventory, storage, spares, and movement while adhering to stringent warehousing and munitions safety constraints. This reduces the risk of stockouts and excess inventory so that the right parts are always available without tying up unnecessary capital in inventory. With these insights, military units can maintain a lean and efficient supply chain, ensuring readiness without unnecessary costs.

Strengthened Decision-making with Explainable AI

Readiness requires effective decision-making to be successful. AI provides military leaders with the clear, actionable insights that help determine the next best step. But not all AI systems are created equal. To maximize the benefits of this kind of decision intelligence, the military should prioritize the tools enabled with explainable AI (XAI).

XAI bridges the gap between the complexity of AI models and the human need for clear, understandable, and trustworthy outcomes. It leverages natural language to deliver key insights and next steps and can augment these explanations with visualizations to help users better understand how the system came to its conclusion.