Jane Edwards
Cedric George, director for DOD strategic business development at Amazon Web Services, told FedScoop in an interview published Monday that edge computing enables the Department of Defense to provide warfighters access to systems at the tactical edge across ground, air or maritime domain.
He cited the U.S. Air Force’s On-Ramp 4 technical demonstration in 2021 as an example of how edge computing works in support of the service’s Advanced Battle Management System.
“The results demonstrated capabilities such as DevSecOps, the deployment of artificial intelligence and machine learning applications and Kubernetes clusters at the edge, and the ability to move deployed code from unclassified to classified networks,” George said of the On-Ramp 4 exercise.
Through on-ramp exercises, George said the Pentagon has demonstrated its ability to test cloud capabilities in virtual environments with the involvement of military organizations, multiple vendors and partners.
“The exercises also give our military leaders the ability to move faster and more effectively by experimenting using cloud capabilities. At the end of the day, it’s about delivering mission relevant capabilities to the field at the speed of mission needs,” he added.
When asked about areas where innovation opportunities lie, George noted that military officials are looking to advance programs related to AI and machine learning.
“From computer vision systems for autonomous driving, to FDA-approved medical imaging, AI is certainly driving public sector innovation,” he added.
