U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, the Tampa-based military command responsible for U.S. operations across the Middle East, Central Asia and parts of South Asia, will establish its first bilateral task force with the United Arab Emirates to accelerate military artificial intelligence applications.
The Abu Dhabi-based team, Task Force Talon Synapse, is expected to launch in the coming weeks with about 20 American and Emirati specialists in AI, data and cybersecurity.
It will develop tools for intelligence support, critical-infrastructure protection and monitoring the regional security environment.
CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper and UAE National Security Advisor Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan first discussed the concept last year, followed by CENTCOM meetings with Emirati defense officials and AI industry leaders last month.
Although the task force will operate from Abu Dhabi, it extends work directed from CENTCOM’s headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base. MacDill, which also hosts U.S.
Special Operations Command and 33 mission partners, employs nearly 16,800 military personnel, civilians and contractors.
The base produced an estimated $4.1 billion economic impact in Tampa Bay during fiscal 2023, including $1.5 billion in payroll and $2.6 billion in job creation; that figure rose to $5.7 billion when retirees and surviving spouses were included.