Exia Labs Announces Cooperative R&D with U.S. Army DEVCOM Armaments Center to Advance AI Agents for Autonomous and Remotely Operated Weapon Systems
The team will develop AI agents capable of navigating sophisticated simulation environments to accelerate the design, evaluation, and integration of next-generation weapon systems
BELLEVUE, Wash., January 5, 2026 -- Exia Labs, a leader in spatial intelligence and autonomous agent development for mission-critical environments, today announced a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Armaments Center. The collaboration will focus on building AI agents that simulate autonomous and remotely operated weapon systems, designed to operate within the complexities of modern command and control.
Under the CRADA, Exia Labs will work closely with DEVCOM Armaments Center’s Gaming Interactive Technologies & Multimedia (GITM) Branch and Systems Engineering Directorate (SED). Together, the teams will develop AI agents capable of navigating sophisticated simulation environments to accelerate the design, evaluation, and integration of next-generation weapon systems.
This partnership aligns with the Department of War’s designation of Applied Artificial Intelligence (AAI) as a Critical Technology Area to achieve decision superiority. The initiative reflects the growing need for reliable, data-driven tools that can enhance decision-making, mission planning, and operational effectiveness in increasingly complex battlefield environments.
“Future armaments will benefit greatly from military-grade AI models that are robust and trained specifically on weapon system technical data,” said Thomas Kiel, Sr. Systems Engineer at DEVCOM Armaments Center. “This will impact the entire development life-cycle of munitions.”
AI agent-based tools offer the ability to perceive environments, process vast amounts of data, and generate actionable insights that inform commanders in real time. By integrating data sources such as weapon system performance metrics, satellite imagery, and historical engagement data, these agents can evaluate courses of action (COAs), identify optimal firing solutions, and model operational outcomes. This predictive capability has the potential to reduce risk, improve agility, and ensure mission success—while always maintaining human oversight and strategic alignment.
“By combining Exia Labs’ expertise in AI agents with DEVCOM’s advanced simulation capabilities, this collaboration represents an important step toward responsibly advancing autonomous and remotely operated weapon systems,” said Jonathan Pan, CEO at Exia Labs. “Our joint effort will help the Army and DoW accelerate trusted AI adoption while ensuring commanders maintain decision advantage in the most challenging operational environments.”