Key Takeaways
• SOCOM signed a five-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Seerist to enhance AI-enabled threat detection and decision-making.
• The partnership leverages Seerist’s AI models and open-source data for situational awareness and predictive analysis.
• This initiative supports SOCOM’s operational goals in dynamic, complex environments by providing real-time, risk-based intelligence.
• The collaboration is part of a broader U.S. Department of Defense strategy to embed artificial intelligence across national security functions.
The United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) has entered into a new five-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with artificial intelligence firm Seerist, aimed at modernizing defense operations through AI-powered situational awareness and risk forecasting.
This partnership is a key step in the U.S. Department of Defense’s larger initiative to integrate advanced technologies into national security infrastructures.
Elevating Operational Decision-Making with AI
The SOCOM–Seerist collaboration is structured to enhance intelligence workflows and operational foresight by employing artificial intelligence and machine learning tools.
These technologies will support faster, evidence-based decision-making in mission-critical scenarios by delivering automated, real-time insights.
• The agreement facilitates non-monetary collaboration to develop dual-use defense technologies.
• The AI tools are designed to automate early warning systems and threat modeling.
• SOCOM aims to close information gaps through data-driven situational awareness.
— John Goolgasian, President, Seerist Federal
Harnessing Open-Source Data for Threat Identification
Seerist’s platform integrates a variety of open-source intelligence (OSINT) feeds to power predictive models. This includes data streams such as:
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News reporting and international media
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Social media content and behavioral analytics
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Economic and political governance indicators
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Weather forecasts and travel advisories
These sources are fed into AI algorithms that automate the identification of risk patterns, geopolitical shifts, and regional instabilities, enhancing SOCOM’s strategic and tactical responses.
Aligning with the DoD’s AI Transformation Strategy
This agreement comes as part of the Pentagon’s broader AI modernization roadmap, which prioritizes the use of artificial intelligence to transform defense capabilities.
The U.S. Department of Defense has invested heavily in machine learning programs since 2018, when DARPA allocated $2 billion to projects aiming to transition AI from analytical tools to collaborative partners in military strategy.
Recent milestones in this trajectory include:
• An AI-controlled VISTA X-62A tactical aircraft completing 17 flight hours in simulated combat.
• Romanian firm OVES Enterprise integrating AI into the U.S. Army’s EAGLS counter-drone system.
• Deployment of AI in threat interception and electromagnetic domain awareness programs.
These advancements reflect a sustained effort to transition from reactive intelligence methods to proactive threat mitigation frameworks.
National Security Implications
With the global security environment becoming increasingly data-saturated and unpredictable, defense agencies like SOCOM are turning to technology partners that can filter vast amounts of unstructured information into actionable insight. The Seerist partnership is structured to serve that need by:
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Reducing latency in threat response cycles
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Empowering field operations with real-time intelligence
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Supporting scalable integration across military commands
The CRADA model also allows the DoD to tap into private-sector innovation without the traditional constraints of federal procurement, expediting the deployment of emerging technologies.
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