Trenton Systems Blog

Why the Armed Forces Must Prioritize Secure, Made-In-USA GPU Computers

Written by Robert Haag | May 21, 2021 12:34:43 PM

Graphic: GPU-intensive AI is and will continue to be an integral part of many military deployments. Bearing this in mind, It's crucial that the Armed Forces prioritize the procurement and acquisition of cybersecure, made-in-USA GPU computing platforms that defend the integrity of military AI processes at the edge.

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to enjoy widespread adoption across major industries, not only because it slashes costs, automates tedious and laborious tasks, improves the accuracy of results, and boosts productivity, but because it’s being increasingly deployed by the defense and aerospace industries to defend our liberty and ensure our national security.

Now, what do I mean by “increasingly deployed?”

As of 2020, the military AI market is valued at $6 billion, and that’s projected to skyrocket to almost $12 billion by 2025, with machine learning (ML), specifically, leading this growth.

Edge computing, cost savings, adversarial advancements in AI, procurement of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) equipment, adoption of cloud computing applications, state-sponsored cyberattacks and the ongoing cybersecurity renaissance, as well as continual improvements in high-performance GPUs responsible for large-scale ML and deep learning (DL) processes at the edge, are the driving forces behind this growth.

Without high-performance computing platforms powered by AI-optimized GPUs and shielded by comprehensive hardware, firmware, and software security solutions, there is no future for cybersecure, efficient, large-dataset AI, at least not of the scale and advanced capabilities required by the defense and aerospace decision-makers tasked with defending our nation.

Given the conditions driving the growth of AI deployments in these industries, clearly, a foundational precept to ensuring their success is the acquisition and procurement of trusted, long-lasting, high-performance, and most importantly, cybersecure computing platforms complemented by GPUs optimized for AI acceleration at the edge.

Regarding cybersecurity, specifically, a crucial protective enhancement to these AI-integrated systems is the acquisition and procurement of high-performance computers designed and manufactured in the USA, particularly in light of the Department of Defense’s microelectronics security concerns and the current administration’s Buy American executive order.

Belief in and commitment to this core tenet is why Trenton Systems, a high-performance computer manufacturer that designs, manufactures, assembles, tests, and supports its computing solutions in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, relies on NVIDIA to create secure, next-generation GPU computing platforms designed for aerospace and defense programs and applications focused on AI/ML/DL efficiency and security.

Trenton Systems assures aerospace and defense engineers and program managers that its GPU computing platforms are secure not only by defending its supply chain through its Counterfeit Protection Program (CPP) and strict revision control policies but by manufacturing its platforms in the USA and partnering with trusted cybersecurity solutions providers like Wind River and Intel, whose technologies – Titanium Security Suite (TSS), Platform Firmware Resilience (PFR), Software Guard Extensions (SGX), Total Memory Encryption (TME), and many others - protect the computer’s hardware, software, and firmware holistically by assuming that attackers have already gained access to the system.

NVIDIA provides the ML/DL heartbeat that disseminates computational blood throughout these secure platforms: GPUs, designed for AI acceleration at the edge - whether integrated onto Trenton motherboards to enhance performance and ruggedization or classically inserted into their PCIe 4.0 slots. A longtime GPU solutions provider and the industry’s leading manufacturer of the very technology powering large-dataset AI/ML/DL globally and in real-time, NVIDIA has not only tenacity but a profound understanding of AI’s reverberating influence and its growing necessity in the defense and aerospace industries of today.

Going forward, NVIDIA’s GPUs will need an increasingly secure place to call home. Trenton Systems has, and will continue to, lock the proverbial deadbolt, right here on American soil.

Downstream, once these secure, high-performance GPU computers have been deployed, what does this mean for the commander, the fighter pilot, the warfighter, and the numerous other servicemembers who sacrifice day in and day out?

It means clarity. It means efficiency. It means success. It means confidence in command and control, in process, and in strategy. It means knowing that our nation is protected during the emerging cyberwar.

It means freedom.