Scale AI, Meta, and defense experts have unveiled Defense Llama, a specialized AI language model built for American national security operations. The system, based on Meta's Llama 3, equips military planners and intelligence analysts with generative AI capabilities tailored for defense applications.
Defense Llama is only available in controlled U.S. government environments through Scale Donovan—an AI digital staff officer for national security. The model assists with critical tasks including military operations planning, threat assessment, and response strategy development.
Scale AI used its Data Engine to fine-tune the model, incorporating military doctrine, international humanitarian law, and Department of Defense (DoD) guidelines. The company says this specialized training ensures the model's outputs align with DoD ethical principles while maintaining accuracy and reliability.
The system adheres to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence's writing standards, generating responses that match the precise language requirements of defense professionals. Scale AI reports the model has undergone evaluation using DoD-specific benchmarks to verify its grasp of military terminology and protocols.
"Our open-source Llama models have great potential to support America's safety and security and keep our country competitive," said David Wehner, Meta's Chief Strategy Officer, discussing the partnership with Scale AI.
Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang emphasized the mission-driven aspect: "Supporting American national security is core to our mission at Scale. With Defense Llama, our service members can now harness generative AI to meet their specific mission needs."
The launch of Defense Llama follows Meta's announcement yesterday to make its Llama models available to U.S. government agencies and defense contractors. This marks a significant shift in how tech giants like Meta approach military AI applications, as competition intensifies between the United States and China.
Defense Llama is available for integration into various defense systems, including command and control platforms, intelligence analysis tools, and decision-support systems. Scale AI says it will continue collaborating with the defense community to ensure the model remains a trusted asset for U.S. military and intelligence operations.