That’s according to the maker of the tool, Virtualitics, which initially fielded its technology to Air Force B-52 squadrons and has since expanded across that service and to other military components. According to Virtualitics Chief Commercial Officer Rob Bocek, who spoke to Military Times in an interview, the tool, Iris, uses a group of AI agents that coordinate with frontier AI models to pinpoint where capability and readiness gaps exist and make specific recommendations on how to improve outcomes.

“If you were to ask the very same question in just a generic [large language model], you would not get the depth, the richness. It would be just kind of a generic response,” he said. “These … models can be configured and tuned so that when you ask a very specific and very complex question in our chat interface, you get a very specific response back. Those capabilities don’t exist in the [Defense] Department elsewhere.”

According to Bocek, Virtualitics tools have already been used to save the Air Force 50,000 man-hours in more efficient munitions storage, with AI calculations assessing not only available space but also safety considerations around net explosive weight and packing density. They have also informed decisions about which weapons to deploy, presumably in support of Operation Epic Fury earlier this year, Bocek said.

“There was a specific kinetic effector that needed to be fielded rapidly, and based on the quantities that were being sent over, our system basically said, that’s not enough; this is the appropriate number, and here’s why,” Bocek said.

“And I think it’s that blind spot where there was this ‘aha’ moment, where we’re now able to use AI for these types of very, very complex decisions, and then understand too what are the second- and third-order effects if we just deploy certain capabilities to certain parts of the world — what’s the downstream effect six months from now, a year from now. And so now leaders, decision-makers have that level of visibility, which I think is very powerful,” he added.

The Marine Corps’ 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, covering all of its East Coast aviation squadrons, first contracted with Virtualitics for readiness tools in 2025. This contract renewal will provide Iris to all six stateside MV-22 squadrons within 2nd MAW, and be extended to a seventh when it returns from its current deployment, according to the company. 

Ospreys across the Marine Corps have been in a limited operating status since 2023 due to a gearbox issue responsible for the fatal crash of an Air Force CV-22 Osprey that year. Officials most recently said the platform would return to full flight operations by the end of 2026.

In a February congressional hearing, one lawmaker bemoaned the number of “hangar queens” in the Osprey fleet – aircraft that never reach the flightline and depress readiness rates. That hearing revealed that Osprey readiness rates had slipped from a previously reported 60% to around 50% for the Marine Corps and 40% for the Navy, which has a much smaller fleet of the aircraft.

Bocek said improving mission capability rates was a clearly stated goal for the Marine Corps in adopting Iris for the Osprey. Iris, he said, will be able to identify supply gaps and ways to improve efficiency. Another component of the system, he said, is a scheduling optimizer.

“If we have a sortie in the next 48 hours, what assets do we schedule,” he said, “and more importantly, understanding what are the downstream effects on maintenance and support if we select these tail numbers. And so our AI is able to pull together a pretty comprehensive picture of that and pull together a pretty comprehensive picture of that and provide that decision trade space for the operators.”

With increased interest across the Pentagon in exploiting newfound AI capabilities, Virtualitics has been “on a tear,” Bocek said, quadrupling revenues over the last two years. Revenues may triple again this year, he said, with additional military contracts set to be announced over the next 90 days.

Texas-based Warhound was conceived by Anduril Industries founder Palmer Luckey and entrepreneur Ben Lamm, who started Colossal Biosciences, a company best known for its efforts to revive extinct species.

In a press release, Warhound chief executive David Spirk said the company aims to reduce the United States’ dependence on a “shrinking” European supply chain for working dogs.

“Our long-term goal is simple: healthier dogs, better-prepared teams, and more service members and first responders coming home safely,” Spirk said, adding that he cares deeply about “protecting people and helping the animals who support them.”

Before joining Warhound, Spirk held several defense-related positions, including senior counsel at Palantir Technologies and chief data officer at both the Defense Department and U.S. Special Operations Command, or SOCOM.

According to the announcement, Luckey and Lamm conceived the idea for Warhound years ago at the annual Moonshots Summit, a gathering where entrepreneurs discuss ambitious ideas.

They recognized two challenges with military working-dog programs: Most of the canines never complete training, and the U.S. relies heavily on a foreign supply chain. 

According to Warhound, overseas suppliers provide 80% of military working dogs. The company also says the United States must train roughly 200 dogs to field 100, in part because so many fail to complete training.

Warhound plans to combine the founders’ respective areas of expertise to address those problems.

“Colossal’s science will help produce healthier dogs with characteristics suited to demanding missions, while Anduril’s technology will give dogs and their handlers greater awareness and protection in the field,” the company said.

Warhound also said it will work with the American Humane Society to safeguard the animals’ health and welfare. The company said its goal is to reduce training washouts, limit the number of dogs entering intensive training unnecessarily and enable safer, more effective missions.

Cmdr. Chris Kennedy was relieved on Sept. 29 “due to a loss of confidence in her ability to serve as executive officer,” Cmdr. Nicole Schwegman, a Naval Surface Forces spokeswoman, said in an emailed statement.

The relief was not based on any investigation and was a matter of commanders losing confidence “in her abilities due to a review of her performance,” Schwegman said.

Kennedy became the Fitz’s XO in December, while the ship was still in a Mississippi shipyard undergoing massive repairs after a 2017 at-sea collision that killed seven sailors on board.

Fitzgerald has since arrived at its new home port in San Diego.

Schwegman said Kennedy declined to comment Friday.

Kennedy’s removal was not publicized due to a policy change that went into effect last year for reasons that remain unclear.

While reliefs of commanding officers are still announced, the service no longer publicizes firings of XOs or command master chiefs.

A reader alerted Navy Times to Kennedy’s relief.

Cmdr. Mike Sledge is serving as the warship’s second-in-command until a permanent replacement is named.

A Florida native, Kennedy was commissioned in 2003 and attained her current rank in September 2019, according to her service record.

Tibbets will also not receive his promotion to major general, the Air Force said in a release Thursday evening.

The Air Force said an inspector general investigation substantiated allegations that Tibbets had made inappropriate comments about women on two occasions, failed to properly report suicide attempts through his chain of command on four occasions, violated policy on use of a government vehicle, and failed to report the value of autographed photographs given to him by celebrities.

The allegations stemmed from his command of the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, which he led from June 2015 to July 2017.

The release said complaints were raised about Tibbets in May 2017. After the investigation was completed, now-retired Gen. Robin Rand, former head of Global Strike Command, issued Tibbets a letter of admonishment and his promotion was withheld.

Tibbets will enter terminal leave Oct. 19, and his retirement as a brigadier general will take effect Dec. 1.

Tibbets, a 1989 Air Force Academy graduate, is the grandson of Brig. Gen. Paul Tibbets Jr., who piloted the Enola Gay when it dropped a uranium bomb over Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945.