NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT) is advancing the Audacious Training programme through practical innovation, with one of its priority efforts now moving into implementation at the Joint Warfare Centre (JWC).
The Beacon Project “AI in Audacious Training” was originally conceptually developed by ACT to apply artificial intelligence to the behind-the-scenes work that makes major NATO exercises possible. In January 2026, responsibility for execution and implementation transferred to the Joint Warfare Centre in Stavanger, Norway, while Headquarters Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (HQ SACT) retains oversight to ensure coherence, scalability and long-term Alliance benefit.
The project sits under the second line of effort of Audacious Training, “Embrace New Technologies and Innovation,” which focuses on modernizing how training is designed and delivered. That includes digital and data-driven approaches that help exercise designers build scenarios faster, run training events with more flexibility, and capture outcomes more clearly. The aim is not to introduce technology for its own sake, but to make training more responsive and help forces adapt as conditions change.
A Beacon Project for practical delivery
As a Beacon Project, “AI in Audacious Training” reflects ACT’s approach to accelerating adoption of proven ideas. Beacon Projects are priority initiatives selected through ACT’s Adoption Board and supported by senior leader stewardship to move practical capabilities into NATO use quickly. The emphasis is on near-term impact, not long-range experimentation.
For this project, a key focus is automating parts of exercise scenario design that traditionally require heavy manual effort, particularly the event and incident injects that drive exercise storylines and force decision-making. This includes support to Main Events List/Main Incidents List (MEL/MIL) scripting, one of the most labour-intensive parts of exercise design.
Done well, this reduces staff workload and shortens production timelines, while also making training more dynamic and less predictable by enabling planners to generate and refine more varied situations. The goal is not to replace human judgement. It is to reduce administrative burden so experts can spend more time on realism, learning objectives, and operational relevance.
JWC Implementation and Maven Smart System
JWC’s ongoing digital transformation provides a practical setting for implementation. In January, JWC exercise teams participated in a demonstration of the Maven Smart System (MSS), an AI-enabled toolset being integrated into exercise planning and delivery. JWC has highlighted the value of using MSS to support data transformation, fusion, and organization, while rapidly testing tools with end users and refining them based on feedback.
Lieutenant Colonel Jered Harris, the JWC’s MSS Integrated Project Team Lead, said: “With AI and machine learning technologies available through MSS, the JWC aims to digitize the exercise process, ensuring faster and better-quality outputs for the warfighter. We will be prepared for ‘fight tonight’ and ‘fight tomorrow’ concepts and challenges. We are laying the foundation for the growing pace of innovation across the Alliance.”
MSS will also support scenario production and management at the JWC by transforming and structuring data. This is essential for building interconnected datasets that can support NATO’s highly complex multi-domain deterrence and defence scenarios.
From implementation to NATO-wide value
This implementation model aligns with the project’s incremental approach: deliver useful capability early, learn from practical use, and improve it step by step. Headquarters, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation will continue to provide oversight and governance to ensure the project remains aligned with the wider Audacious Training initiative and supports NATO-wide interoperability and scalability.
Near-term milestones will demonstrate progress and help transition from prototype capability to repeatable NATO exercise value. Current planning includes delivering a proof of concept demonstrating digital and AI-enabled exercise design and execution at the NATO Summit in July, followed by development and testing of a minimum viable product during exercise STEADFAST DUEL 2026 in October.
AI in Audacious Training is a clear example of Audacious Training’s innovation pillar in action: using AI and digital automation to strengthen NATO exercise design and delivery through practical, operationally relevant capability.
