Human in the Loop

In today’s fast-evolving security environment, military commanders often face overwhelming complexity. Hybrid threats, multi-domain operations, cognitive warfare, and great-power competition demand rapid, accurate decisions under high uncertainty. Traditional training methods and manual planning tools frequently fall short in replicating the speed and scale of modern conflicts.

The European Defence Fund (EDF) 2026 offers a timely opportunity in this field. Through its dedicated call on modelling and simulation-supported AI, the EU aims to develop advanced frameworks that significantly improve military decision-making and training. These solutions are designed to deliver realistic scenario generation, enhanced planning support, and better operational efficiency, all while ensuring high levels of security and interoperability. With a substantial indicative budget, the call supports feasibility studies, system design, and seamless integration with existing command-and-control systems and synthetic training environments. (European Commission, 2025)

At Beyond the Horizon ISSG, we view this not as a quest to replace human judgment with machines, but as a way to augment it. AI-supported simulations can generate thousands of realistic scenarios in minutes, draw on historical data, doctrinal models, and benchmark databases, and help commanders explore escalation pathways and alternative futures. The result? Better-prepared forces, reduced risk of costly mistakes, and improved learning outcomes across readiness, operations, and capability development.

However, technology alone is not enough. Without proper safeguards, AI systems risk becoming “black boxes” that erode human accountability or introduce unintended ethical blind spots. This is why ethics by design, human factors, and clear Concepts of Operations (CONOPS) must be embedded from the outset. AI should act like a highly skilled staff officer, offering options, insights, and rapid analysis, while the commander retains full responsibility and remains firmly in the loop.

The following infographic illustrates this Human-AI Decision Loop:

Human Ai Decision Loop Beyond the Horizon ISSG

This visual clearly shows how realistic threat scenarios, AI-powered simulation, options generation, human judgment, and continuous feedback work together to support better and safer military decisions.

Successful frameworks will connect seamlessly to existing C2 and training systems, support instructor tools, and allow testing of future human-machine interactions. They must also address real-world military needs, including hybrid and multi-domain challenges. Proposals are expected to cover at least two use cases in forces readiness, operations support, and capability development, contributing to Europe’s broader goals in deep and digital technologies under the STEP initiative. (European Commission, 2025)

From our perspective as a Brussels-based independent Think & Do Tank, whose team includes former military officers, war academy instructors, and personnel with significant NATO headquarters experience, the key to success lies in effectively bridging technological innovation with real-world operational needs. Consortia should prioritise realistic hybrid and multi-domain threat scenarios, careful attention to human factors, and dedicated work packages on ethics and compliance. These non-technical elements are essential for achieving high scores on Implementation and Impact and for ensuring the solutions are practically adopted by European and NATO forces.

Europe has a unique chance under EDF 2026 to lead in responsible, human-centred AI for defence. When simulation tools are developed with operational context, ethical rigour, and end-user needs at their core, military decisions become not only smarter — but also safer, more legitimate, and better aligned with our values.

We invite system integrators, research institutes, and technology developers working on this call to explore collaboration with Beyond the Horizon ISSG. As a specialised horizontal partner, we bring proven EU project expertise to lead work packages on ethics by design, human factors in AI-supported training, CONOPS development, dissemination, and project coordination — helping consortia turn promising ideas into operationally viable and ethically compliant capabilities.

References

European Commission, Annex 3 – 2026 Call Topic Descriptions, EDF-2026-RA-SIMTRAIN-MSAI-STEP (December 2025).
European Commission, EDF Work Programme 2026 C. (as amended by C(2026) 690 final of 04.02.2026)