Kristen Smith
The speed and efficacy of the agentic artificial intelligence integration into the U.S. defense strategy are expected to contribute to ensuring the success of U.S. and allied joint warfighters on the future battlefield.
In an opinion piece posted on the ECS website, Karthik Srinivasan, vice president of defense and intel strategy, and Austin Amaya, director of analytics and AI at ECS, said U.S. adversaries have begun adopting agentic AI to advance their modern defense capabilities through the technology’s capability to enable rapid decision-making, multidomain coordination and reduced human risk in high-stakes missions.
Agentic AI Driving Intelligence Revolution
Compared to traditional AI, which performs specific tasks based on pre-defined instructions, agentic AI can improve its performance by adapting to new situations, learning from interactions and generating new tools.
Agentic AI can enhance offensive and defensive capabilities in autonomous warfare involving AI-powered drones and cyber warfare. When it comes to information collection and analysis, agentic AI would bring increased efficiency with its capacity to process massive and diverse datasets, including satellite imagery, intercepted communications, social media chatter and financial transactions, faster than traditional AI. According to the op-ed, agentic AI is the ultimate analyst driving the intelligence revolution.
In today’s complex and interconnected world, intelligence plays a crucial role in safeguarding the nation, preventing crises and informing policy decisions. The rise of new threats, technological advancements and geopolitical shifts has made intelligence gathering and analysis more essential than ever. Join the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Intel Summit, where the Intelligence Community’s top leaders will provide insights into the challenges and opportunities facing the IC today and into the future. Register here.
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is exploring new approaches to data and AI that could enable threat prediction. The NGA plans to integrate new AI reasoning capabilities into the Maven AI-powered image and video processing program, in which ECS has served as the prime AI interoperability integrator since 2017, to detect both known and potential threats.
“Agentic AI is not just a technological advance — it’s a transformative leap forward for defense and intelligence,” said ECS executives Srinivasan and Amaya. “Countries that lead in AI-driven warfare will dominate future conflicts.”
Challenges in Deploying Agentic AI
While using agentic AI will revolutionize military strategy, cybersecurity and intelligence, its deployment introduces ethical dilemmas, potential system vulnerabilities and risk of misuse.
“Agentic AI requires ethical oversight, human governance, and global cooperation to prevent potentially catastrophic misuse and escalation,” the executives said.
