Lockheed Martin Launches AI Fight Club to Accelerate Battle-Ready AI for National Defense

Top AI teams from industry and government will clash in Lockheed Martin’s AI Fight Club, a new proving ground built to drive breakthroughs in military technology and keep American defense one step ahead.

Image Credit:  Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin is pioneering a competitive environment designed to accelerate the testing and operational deployment of artificial intelligence, supporting warfighters in their missions. Lockheed Martin's AI Fight Club™ is a comprehensive testing ground to simulate how AI systems perform in air, land, sea, and space domains.

"There has never been a more important time to prove which implementations of AI technologies are the best, to help the United States stay ahead of the threats facing our nation and allies," said John Clark, Lockheed Martin's senior vice president of Technology and Strategic Innovation. "AI Fight Club uses advanced simulation and visualization to evaluate AI in realistic and complex scenarios that mimic the challenges of modern warfare. Teams with the best AI will battle each other to determine the most robust, reliable and effective models."

A Proving Ground for the Best AI in the Nation

AI Fight Club will use a synthetic environment developed by Lockheed Martin that simulates realistic scenarios across domains. This provides companies and teams of all sizes with the opportunity to test their models in simulations that meet Department of Defense (DOD) standards. AI models will meet exacting DOD standards that are integral to the AI Fight Club proving ground, demonstrating the feasibility of these models for national security.

Ultimately, events will bring together teams from across the industry and government experts to collaborate in a unique environment that fosters innovation, identifies vulnerabilities, and informs the development of more advanced AI systems to benefit national security as a whole.

How it works

• Teams of experts across the industry will compete in head-to-head matchups.
• Government representatives will engage with the competitors as they demonstrate their capabilities.
• Organizers will select a scenario for each match that reflects realistic and complex military operations for the competitions, such as:
  • Airborne operations in a contested environment
  • Layered Homeland Defense
  • Coastal defense against amphibious assault
  • Space-based surveillance and reconnaissance
• Teams will submit their systems, which will then be evaluated in competitions based on their performance in each scenario.
• Insights and lessons learned from the AI Fight Club will inform the development of future AI systems, push the industry forward, and ensure American capabilities are optimized to support the unique needs of the warfighter and the Joint Force.
• Teams will have the opportunity to publish and present their research and results, showcasing their innovations and advancements in AI.

What's next?

Lockheed Martin is actively developing the virtual arena that will host the first AI Fight Club. The company expects to complete the simulation environment by the end of Q3 2025, with the first AI Fight Club competition scheduled for Q4 2025.

Lockheed Martin is announcing AI Fight Club now to give interested teams time to refine their AI and put their best foot forward, and take on challengers.

Teams interested in competing can visit www.lockheedmartin.com/AIFightClub or email [email protected] for more information.