Raft’s StarSage Becomes First Agentic AI to Speak With Live Tactical Systems
Breakthrough moment for Agentic AI-powered command and control during Air Force tactical exercise
McLean, Virginia – Today, Raft announced that its agentic AI system, StarSage, became the first agentic AI capability to connect, communicate, and operate across dispersed U.S. Air Force tactical systems – proving its value as the future of tactical command and control.
“For the first time, agentic AI didn’t just integrate into the fight – it connected warfighters, systems, and decision points in real time,” said Shubhi Mishra, Founder and CEO of Raft. “StarSage proved it can adapt, understand, and operate in live Air Force mission environments. That’s not theoretical – that’s operational AI, today.”
During the Project Convergence Capstone 5 (PC-C5) exercise, StarSage connected with tactical assets through two Air Force Control and Reporting Center (CRC) Tactical Operations Center-Light (TOC-L) units, one deployed to Guam and another at Nellis Air Force Base. This marked the first time an agentic AI linked two live USAF tactical weapon systems over a distributed architecture.
In another first, StarSage received and responded to a real-time request for information from a human crew member – delivering battle management command and control inputs with clarity and precision. Human operators later confirmed the AI’s communication was not only intelligible, but nearly flawless, despite degraded audio conditions.
StarSage also became the first agentic AI to interface with the TOC-L communications server using live radios. This was only possible after Raft software engineers identified and resolved a previously unknown filter issue in the system. According to the CRC group commander, Raft’s solution “enabled something we didn’t know was broken.”
The agentic AI system also connected to the Air Force’s premier simulation network, the Distributed Mission Operations Center (DMOC), where it successfully communicated with live pilots and provided tactical control – two more historic firsts.
Raft also developed a custom program enabling StarSage to ingest and operate with LINK-16, the Air Force’s primary tactical data link. The agentic AI tracked live aircraft missions with near-perfect accuracy, saving the Air Force from spending thousands on third-party tools.
StarSage, developed under the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) Transformational Models of Battle Management framework, mimics the decision-making patterns of human Air Battle Managers (ABMs). During PC-C5, it operated out of the Shadow Operations Center with the 805th Combat Training Squadron at Nellis AFB, where it demonstrated machine learning-driven decision support across multiple operational layers.
Notably, StarSage’s voice communications to and from human operators showed low degradation in accuracy and high clarity. Despite static, feedback loops, and unpredictable comms quality, StarSage parsed incoming audio with a level of comprehension that stunned engineers.
For more on Raft and StarSage, visit https://teamraft.com/what-we-do/ai-capabilities/starsage/
About Raft
Raft is the leader in autonomous data fusion and Agentic AI, equipping the Department of Defense and national security organizations with cutting-edge solutions to drive mission success. Trusted by over 25 federal agencies, we enhance legacy systems and accelerate modernization with limited-language, voice-activated AI, enabling smarter, faster decisions from the tactical edge to headquarters. Our autonomous AI agents, powered by modular machine learning wrappers, deliver greater mission impact without the cost and disruption of full system replacements.
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