Scarlet Dragon Links Military, Industry to Test Artificial Intelligence for Warfighters
This story describes "Scarlet Dragon," a Defense Department effort to connect military operators with industry partners and put AI systems through more realistic, field-relevant testing. The emphasis is less on one-off demos and more on structured evaluation: can models and decision-support tools actually hold up when they have to ingest messy data, run on constrained infrastructure, and fit into existing operational processes.
The recurring theme is what usually separates pilots from rollout: access to data, integration, and governance. Exercises like this can expose where AI tools break (latency, reliability, human-in-the-loop workflows), what kinds of data and labeling are missing, and what controls are needed to safely use automation in high-stakes environments. Even if you’re not in defense, it’s a useful example of how large organizations can “productize” model evaluation beyond benchmarks.