AI Agents Enter The Battlefield As NATO Prepares For Future Warfare

Artificial intelligence agents are taking part in simulated cyber warfare alongside human military operators as a NATO-accredited defense center prepares for a future in which machines could help wage war.

The Crossed Swords 2026 exercise, which began Monday in Tallinn, Estonia, brings together more than 250 participants from over 40 countries to coordinate cyber operations with conventional military action, according to the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE). For the first time, participants are developing and deploying AI agents to operate alongside human military specialists, the center announced.

The five-day exercise is running from Monday through Friday and includes military cyber operators, digital forensics analysts, threat hunters and command personnel, according to the NATO CCDCOE. (RELATED: Mysterious Freezer Failures Spark Pentagon Cyberattack Investigation)

Unlike conventional cybersecurity training, Crossed Swords requires military personnel to coordinate digital attacks with physical battlefield operations, including special operations missions, the center explained.

The objective is to synchronize cyber operations with conventional military action, potentially allowing forces to exploit enemy network vulnerabilities at decisive moments during combat, according to the CCDCOE.

Timing is particularly important because cyber operations must produce their intended effects within minutes of physical military action rather than hours, exercise director Jozef Kostelansky said in the official announcement.

"AI is now in the loop on both sides," Kostelansky said, according to the CCDCOE.

The exercise represents a potential shift toward warfare in which artificial intelligence performs portions of military cyber operations while human personnel oversee the broader mission. However, the organizers have not established that these systems can independently authorize military attacks or select targets without human approval.

The exercise is intended to integrate AI into military operations without sacrificing "critical human oversight," Kostelansky said, according to the CCDCOE. The technological environment includes locally hosted artificial intelligence systems and, for the first time, OpenAI's Daybreak cybersecurity technology.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Daybreak provides approved cybersecurity professionals with AI capabilities for identifying software vulnerabilities, analyzing malicious code, investigating security incidents and validating potential fixes, according to OpenAI.

Its more advanced Daybreak Red program also supports authorized penetration testing, vulnerability research and exploit validation, according to OpenAI.

The company has warned that sophisticated AI models could increasingly allow malicious actors to conduct cyberattacks at unprecedented speeds, potentially without continuous human intervention.

OpenAI also committed $1 billion in subsidized access, training and technical support to help cybersecurity defenders protect critical infrastructure worldwide, the company announced in September.

More than 20 organizations are supporting Crossed Swords, including OpenAI, Mandiant, ESET, Bitdefender, Elastic and the International Committee of the Red Cross, according to the CCDCOE.

Civilian infrastructure protection is another component, with military cyber specialists cooperating with civilian partners to incorporate the security of essential services into operational planning, the center said. The exercise also reflects NATO's broader efforts to incorporate artificial intelligence into military operations while preparing for adversaries to use similar technologies.

NATO updated its artificial intelligence strategy in July 2024, emphasizing interoperability between allied systems, cooperation with private industry and protection against adversarial AI capabilities, according to the alliance.

The alliance's responsible AI principles also require human accountability, reliability and the ability to intervene when automated systems behave unexpectedly, according to NATO. (RELATED: Anduril Takes On China With New Made-In-USA Laptop)

NATO has recognized cyberspace as an operational domain since 2016, placing digital warfare alongside the traditional military domains of land, sea and air, according to the alliance.

Crossed Swords has been conducted annually since 2014, with its training expanding to include sophisticated military coordination and increasingly complex cyber operations, according to the CCDCOE.

The center itself is NATO-accredited but operates independently of the alliance's formal military command structure, according to the CCDCOE.

The latest exercise suggests AI agents are moving beyond passive intelligence analysis toward active participation in simulated military operations, pushing the boundaries of how much autonomy machines could eventually receive in future conflicts.