Source URL: https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/public-sector/google-distributed-cloud-at-the-edge-powers-us-air-force-mobility-guardian-2025/
Source: Cloud Blog
Title: Google Distributed Cloud at the edge powers U.S. Air Force Mobility Guardian 2025
Feedly Summary: For today’s mission owner, operating effectively in denied, degraded, intermittent, and limited bandwidth (DDIL) environments is paramount. The Department of Defense’s strategy requires smaller, dispersed teams to function autonomously, creating a critical need for secure AI and data processing at the edge.Bringing cloud power to the edgeRecognizing this challenge, the U.S. Air Force partnered with Google Public Sector and General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) to deploy the Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) air-gapped appliance. The integrated hardware and software solution offers a ruggedized, transportable appliance that allows users to securely run workloads classified up to the Secret level. GDC’s secure-by-design architecture ensures that Zero Trust security is integral, not an afterthought, minimizing complex configurations in contested environments.GDC at Mobility Guardian 2025This July in Guam, The United States and allied partners participated in Mobility Guardian 2025, Air Mobility Command’s (AMC) premier readiness exercise part of the Air Force’s Department-Level Exercise (DLE) series. During this key test of modern expeditionary capabilities, the ruggedized GDC air-gapped appliance successfully demonstrated its ability to generate critical intelligence and AI-powered insights in a disconnected environment – which is fundamental to enhancing resilience and accelerating decision-making for the Air Force.Delivering a decisive advantage: key capabilities in actionDuring Mobility Guardian, the Google Distributed Cloud appliance successfully delivered:Resilient command and control: Provided a secure, disconnected IL2 collaboration platform with a containerized version of MatterMost, an open-source platform designed for secure communication. Airmen used Google’s generative AI models for real-time transcription, optical character recognition (OCR), translation, and summarization to improve interoperability.Real-time data processing: The appliance integrated with GDIT’s Luna AI solution to process unified air defense data at the edge. This provides a low-latency picture for real-time flight path tracking and improved situational awareness which can be leveraged for counter-UAS triggers.Edge development environment: The team provisioned a coding environment with Jupyter notebooks that engineers could use to develop and refine applications directly in the field, enabling the creation of new analytics and tools at the tactical edge.AI-enabled tele-maintenance: The Air Force ingested hundreds of pages of technical manuals to create a grounded generative AI resource for instant troubleshooting. Its computer vision capabilities analyzed visual data from the field to automatically identify and extract critical elements – such as maintenance abnormalities, equipment status, or location coordinates – turning unstructured information into actionable readiness data.From the edge to the enterprise: validating the future of defense operationsThis collaboration between the Air Force, Google, and GDIT exemplifies how tactical, air-gapped cloud systems can bring out-of-the-box GPUs and AI-enhanced solutions to the mission – whenever and wherever they’re needed. This successful demonstration also validated a complete workflow – from operating autonomously at the edge to syncing seamlessly back to the core network once connectivity was restored. The insights gained are invaluable for the future of defense operations. The GDC air-gapped appliance is now ready for deeper integrations with mission applications and connectivity with Google’s Global Network (GGN) to create a secure high performance link from the edge back to the cloud.To learn more about how we are empowering defense and intelligence agencies, register to attend the Google Public Sector Summit on October 29, in Washington, D.C.Photo by Senior Airman Daniel Hernandez, 1st Combat Camera Squadron
AI Summary and Description: Yes
Summary: The text highlights the collaboration between the U.S. Air Force, Google Public Sector, and General Dynamics Information Technology in deploying the Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) to enhance secure AI operations in denied and degraded environments. This integration of cloud computing at the edge aims to improve tactical capabilities, real-time data processing, and autonomous operations in the defense sector.
Detailed Description:
The text discusses a significant advancement in defense-related cloud computing and AI applications through the deployment of the Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) air-gapped appliance. This initiative demonstrates critical developments in security, operational capability, and applications of AI in military operations.
Key Points:
– **Challenge of DDIL Environments**: The text emphasizes the necessity for the military to operate effectively in denied, degraded, intermittent, and limited bandwidth (DDIL) environments. This is increasingly important for smaller, dispersed teams that require autonomous functionality in such conditions.
– **Partnership and Deployment**: The U.S. Air Force has teamed up with Google Public Sector and General Dynamics Information Technology to deploy the GDC air-gapped appliance. This solution is constructed to be ruggedized and transportable, allowing secure operation of classified workloads at the Secret level.
– **Zero Trust Security Architecture**: The GDC is designed with a secure-by-design approach that integrates Zero Trust security principles. This minimizes the complexity of configurations in environments where security challenges are prevalent.
– **Mobility Guardian 2025 Exercise**: The efficacy of the GDC was showcased during the Mobility Guardian 2025 exercise in Guam, where it provided essential intelligence and AI-powered insights in a disconnected setup, reinforcing the importance of resilience and accelerated decision-making capabilities for the Air Force.
– **Key AI and Data Processing Capabilities**:
– **Resilient Command and Control**: Implemented a secure collaborative platform for effective communication.
– **Real-time Data Processing**: Integrated with AI solutions for unified air defense data, allowing real-time situational awareness.
– **Edge Development Environment**: Enabled field engineers to develop applications that enhance operational readiness.
– **AI-enabled Tele-maintenance**: Utilized generative AI for troubleshooting by analyzing maintenance data, converting unstructured information into actionable insights.
– **Future of Defense Operations**: The collaboration signifies a leap in tactical capabilities through tactical, air-gapped cloud systems that provide real-time AI-enhanced solutions. It validates the workflow from independent edge operations to seamless synchronization with core networks.
– **Next Steps and Integration**: The GDC appliance is poised for further integration with mission applications and connectivity to Google’s Global Network, enhancing secure communications from the edge to the cloud.
The detailed exploration of the collaboration between the military and technology partners not only illustrates the advances in tactical operations but also serves as a significant case study for the application of cloud computing and AI in secure environments, critical for professionals in the field of defense technology.