NATO-backed startup adapts AI for autonomous drone recon and attack missions

Swedish startup Scaleout Systems, backed by NATO's DIANA program, is developing compact AI models for drones operating without a data center connection. The technology enables drones to autonomously recognize and select targets and to learn from battlefield data via federated learning.

• Scaleout Systems founded in 2018 by researchers from Uppsala University
• Company participates in the ALMA project led by BAE Systems Bofors
• Drone autonomously selected an armored engineering vehicle and dropped explosives on it
• In June, the technology was tested at the Swedish Air Force base in Uppsala