Air Force fields WarMatrix

The United States Air Force has put its new WarMatrix artificial intelligence wargaming system into operational use after its first run in a March 27 benchmark exercise. (af.mil) WarMatrix made its debut during the GE 26 Benchmark Wargame, a two-week event in Alexandria, Virginia, with more than 150 participants from Pacific Air Forces, the Air Force Warfare Center, allied planners, senior role players and technical experts. (af.mil) A wargame is a structured rehearsal for war plans: teams test assumptions, move forces on paper or software, and measure what happens under different conditions. WarMatrix pulls together existing models, data and workflows so planners can run those tests faster and compare more options in the same exercise window. (c4isrnet.com) The Air Force says the system is built for “human-machine teaming,” with people still making the judgments on planning and adjudication. Service officials described the March event as an initial operating concept evaluation rather than a handoff of command decisions to software. (af.mil; defensenews.com) That framing follows the Air Force’s pitch over the past several months: use artificial intelligence to speed analysis, not to replace commanders. In January, Thomas Lawhead, assistant deputy chief of staff for strategy, integration and requirements, said the service was using advanced wargaming to define future force designs and capability choices. (nationaldefensemagazine.org; airandspaceforces.com) The service has also tied WarMatrix to a larger effort to digitize a process that has long been slow, manual and hard to repeat. A 2025 contracting notice said the Air Force wanted advanced software, modeling and simulation, and artificial intelligence to move from “traditional, analog methods” to a more scientific and fully digitized approach. (sam.gov) Speed is a central selling point. Defense News reported that the Air Force said in late 2025 it was looking for technology able to produce simulations 10,000 times faster than real time, which would let planners stress-test many more scenarios before a decision point. (defensenews.com) The March exercise focused on concepts, capabilities and force-design questions tied to future conflict scenarios, and the Air Force said the results will inform future planning. WarMatrix now moves from a development project into a tool the service can use in live analytical work, with humans still at the center of the game. (af.mil; militarytimes.com)