“[JATF] “focuses technologies to provide SOF operators with cognitive hyper-adaptability, working at the edge in austere and contested environments, in collaboration with and through partners and allies,” SOCOM spokesman James O. Gregory told WIRED, citing general description of the program from the command’s website“Such technologies will enable tactical SOF teams to intuitively leverage information provided by next-generation sensors, networks, computing and communications systems to rapidly build situational awareness. This will also help them make timely, well-informed decisions and take action within the adversary’s responsiveness.”
Enter the grey zone
So what does HEO look like today, five years after its introduction into the U.S. military’s tactical lexicon? Given the sensitive (and somewhat theoretical) nature of the endeavor, details are scarce, and SOCOM officials have remained relatively tight-lipped about progress. But according to SOCOM’s Gregory, the scenario and concept HEO is trying to address have “evolved” from what officials previously described to reporters at the program’s inception. Indeed, rather than increasing the number of soldiers sent into active combat zones, SOCOM officials envision something more like a casually dressed operator taking in information on a busy city avenue through a Google Glass-like eyepiece and assessing the situation—in other words, more James Bond than Tony Stark.
“The operational environment of current JATF efforts is in the competitive phase of warfare, in permissible or semi-permissible locations,” Gregory says. (A permissible environment is typically defined as an operational environment in which U.S. forces have the support of the host country’s security apparatus, According to (For the US military, while a “semi-permissive” environment is potentially hostile and local support is often unreliable.) HEO is no longer just another kinetic attack tool, it will help elite forces operating in the “gray zone” between peace and conflict.
In 2020, the SOCOM Broadcasting Agency Announcement was published – a general call for proposals for research and development from the defense industry. last updated November 2023 details the JATF’s advanced technology efforts to enhance situational awareness. These technologies include: intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities “without significant personnel or network resources” (mentioned “at the edge”); advanced sensors capable of “iris, face, anatomical measurements, gestures, gait, heartbeat, electromagnetic signals, deoxyribonucleic acid [DNA]and microbiome recognition”; low-visibility communication systems; and “data visualizations” that “enable [operators] receive and intuitively understand network information from communication, computing, and sensor systems,” among other things. In low, HEO envisions systems that enable continuous, real-time collection and distillation of data into actionable information that could potentially mean the difference between life and death in an uncertain situation.
Edge case
Imagining a set of aspirational capabilities is one thing; actually building them is another. When it comes to developing novel products, Gregory says HEO’s efforts have remained focused on three main areas of experimental technologies over the last few years: edge sensing and computing, architecture and analysis, and language translation.
“Edge computing” generally refers to the collection and processing of data from various sources, but it also refers to the specialized computing power that operators need not only to operate “at the edge” but also to actually run the AI-enabled software that will underpin HEO.