When a storm of data streams in from satellites, UAVs, surface radars and cyber sensors, the battlefield can feel like a whirlwind—until the pieces click together to form a single, clear picture. At Lightning Surge (LS) four, Team Lockheed Martin’s architecture unlocks the power of composable services and capabilities, delivering operational relevance at division‑scale and accelerating decision‑making to the speed of the battlefield.
Moving Through the Surges
From the initial data‑layer foundation and prototype deployment at LS 1, through the system integration and live‑fires execution of LS 2, to the first division‑level cross‑domain data sharing at LS 3, the Lightning Surge exercise series has steadily expanded the Army’s warfighting envelope and showcased Lockheed Martin’s ability to integrate and deliver capability quickly.
Our team’s work at LS 4 built upon that pattern of continuous growth with game‑changing capability, demonstrating how artificial intelligence and seamless data integration can compress the kill chain from minutes to seconds, a speed advantage that directly translates into mission success.
Designed for the 25th Infantry Division’s operational architecture, LS4 fuses edge computing, AI decision aid, and a unified situational awareness platform into a single fires picture across air, land, sea, and cyber domains.
Accelerating Capability through Integration
Lockheed Martin was able to demonstrate that our architecture enabled the seamless integration of applications that had been previously integrated at 4ID with the 25ID, proving that the solution can scale across multiple echelons of the Army. This exercise in the surge series highlighted several capabilities:
Initial prototype convergence through the integration of Lattice, supporting cloud-to-edge data flow.
Raft’s Data Platform and AI Mission System enabled real-time data sharing and allowed joint forces to have a synchronized view of the battlefield.
Striveworks AI supported AI-enabled fires synchronization, where AI acts as a decision aid, which supports mission planning, reduces operator workload, and improves target allocation efficiency while commanders remain fully in control.
C3.ai provided AI applications that created a Synchronization Matrix across domains, eliminating information silos and delivering unified situational awareness.
Rune’s TyrOs as part of the Operational Manoeuvre phase to model and refine high-tempo manoeuvre scenarios. Integrating TyrOs lowers the cost and risk while informing subsequent live-field training.
Why It Matters
By leading the charge with competitive industry companies and infantry divisions, Lockheed Martin has created and integrated a scalable, operationally relevant modular, soldier‑first solution that can evolve with emerging threats. The training of Soldiers across the 25th Infantry Division staff and the 3rd Mobile Brigade on the NGC2 prototype demonstrates that the system is operational and ready to inform scaling across the force.
LS4 proved that when edge sensors, cloud analytics, and AI work together, the Army can see, decide and strike faster than ever before. The exercise turned a complex web of data into an actionable fires picture that spans across multiple domains, giving commanders confidence in an environment where every second counts.
As the Army moves toward Multi‑Domain Operations, Team Lockheed Martin's expertise at LS4 sets the standard for how establishing an open architecture and leveraging decades of experience in integration is helping to shape the battlespace of tomorrow.
