The initiative is called the Right to Integrate Hackathon. Driscoll came up with the idea after a trip to Germany, where he encountered a long-standing problem: Army technologies often operate in isolation. Integrating systems requires dedicated engineering work, which slows operations and delays the deployment of new tools.

Driscoll met with representatives of the Ukrainian armed forces, who use an open-architecture mechanism. That became a “lightbulb moment,” Bloomberg writes.

“Nothing like this in size and scale has ever been properly implemented in partnership with all of these companies in any industry or context. Nowhere in the world,” the secretary said.

Open Systems

The program will initially cover air-defense systems, drones, and missiles. In the first phase, the Army will gain access to more than 50 types of weapons; combat vehicles are also likely to be involved.

Participants in the Right to Integrate Hackathon include Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX, Boeing, General Dynamics, L3Harris Technologies, Perennial Autonomy, Palantir, and Anduril. Anduril’s Lattice platform will serve as the project’s “validator.”

The initiative is also intended to demonstrate a new approach to working inside the Pentagon under President Donald Trump: the world’s largest military should adopt a startup mindset and accelerate changes that previously took years or decades.

Driscoll instructed Army Chief Technology Officer Alex Miller to invite the companies to Fort Carson, Colorado, and open up their systems so they can interoperate.

The program is also expected to make it easier to introduce AI into battlefield decision-making — while keeping humans in control.

This article best fits the Policy & Security section because it focuses on military AI, battlefield decision-making, autonomous systems, and human oversight. Although it involves platforms and defense contractors, the core issue is the integration of AI into national security and military operations.