CDAO invests in AI-enabled translation for military-wide use
The Pentagon recently tapped California-based tech company LILT to supply artificial intelligence-powered translation options to military forces worldwide.
According to a press release viewed by DefenseScoop before its public release Tuesday, the Defense Department’s Chief Digital and AI Office awarded LILT a flexible other transaction contract to expand its platform for military domain-specific vocabularies, after it was prototyped and proven via the Defense Innovation Unit.
“The platform enables rapid and accurate translation of text, video, and audio content into or out of English,” per the release. “This specialized, unique AI platform supports U.S. military missions that span from understanding foreign technical documentation and training materials to facilitating foreign partner exercises and supporting direct action missions.”
The Army’s Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) marks one of the first military components reporting impacts from the platform.
It historically would take personnel a full year to translate materials for the institute’s Command and General Staff Officer Course (CGSOC), which is delivered in Spanish and underpins instruction to students from a dozen Latin American and Caribbean partner nations. The course lasts 11 months.
In 2025, WHINSEC officials used LILT technology to translate the entire current-year CGSOC curriculum over the course of just a few weeks.
“LILT AI Translation has catapulted WHINSEC into the future of AI and its nexus with security cooperation and professional military education across the Western Hemisphere. We can now rapidly integrate international forces from countries that partner with the U.S. at all echelons: in the classrooms, during multinational exercises, and foreseeably in coalition combat outposts,” Army Col. Eldridge Singleton, 9th WHINSEC commandant, said in a statement. “That’s what we train for at CGSOC.”
The press release did not disclose the total value of the contract. A Pentagon spokesperson did not respond to DefenseScoop’s request for more information.
The announcement comes on the heels of DOD leaders launching a new AI Acceleration Strategy, which directed personnel to integrate the emerging technology into their daily operations.
