The US Army is testing an experimental generative AI system that can help commanders rapidly generate and compare battlefield plans, potentially transforming how military operations are planned and decisions are made.
The Course of Action Generative Pre-trained Transformer (COA-GPT) was among the technologies featured during Project Convergence Capstone 6 at Fort Irwin, California, where researchers evaluated its ability to compress mission planning from hours or days to seconds.
Developed by the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory (DEVCOM ARL), the platform is designed to augment, not replace, soldiers by integrating generative AI into military planning workflows.
It incorporates an interactive interface that lets commanders communicate intent by drawing directly on a shared map. The AI then interprets those inputs to help generate planning options across distributed teams.
COA-GPT also uses a plug-and-play architecture that allows researchers to swap AI models and evaluate new capabilities without rebuilding the entire system, making it easier to test emerging technologies.
“By fusing generative AI with hard-won military expertise and doctrine, COA-GPT provides army leaders and warfighters the ability to generate and compare innovative workflow options,” said Dr. Amar Marathe, COA-GPT program manager at DEVCOM ARL.
“We are not replacing soldiers with AI, we are arming them with it.”
