Gerard King
https://www.canada.gerardking.dev
September 23, 2025

Key Metrics for AI-Driven National Defence: Prioritizing Data Needs for the Canadian Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces

Abstract

This paper explores the top 100 metrics that an artificial intelligence (AI) system, operating as the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) and Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), would require to effectively support national defense. These metrics encompass threat detection, situational awareness, force readiness, logistics, cybersecurity, command and control efficiency, environmental data, strategic policy, AI performance, and miscellaneous critical factors. The prioritization reflects a comprehensive understanding of modern defense challenges and the crucial role of AI in optimizing decision-making and operational effectiveness.

Introduction

The evolution of defense technology has brought artificial intelligence (AI) to the forefront of national security operations. If AI were to function as the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) and Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), it would need access to an extensive range of metrics to make timely and informed decisions. This paper identifies and prioritizes the top 100 numbers and statistics essential for such an AI system to operate effectively. These metrics are critical for threat assessment, operational readiness, logistics management, cyber defense, command efficiency, environmental awareness, and strategic policy adherence.

The Top 100 Metrics for AI-Driven National Defence

The following list details the top 100 metrics the AI system would prioritize, ordered by domain and relative importance:

Threat and Intelligence Metrics

1. Real-time hostile threat detection count
   
   

2. Threat confidence level (percentage)
   
   

3. Estimated time-to-impact (seconds/minutes)
   
   

4. Enemy force size estimation
   
   

5. Known enemy weapon capabilities
   
   

6. Number of ongoing cyberattack vectors
   
   

7. Insider threat risk index
   
   

8. Frequency of intelligence reports (per hour/day)
   
   

9. Number of detected unauthorized UAVs
   
   

10. Rate of misinformation detected
    
    

Situational Awareness and Sensor Data

11. Sensor network uptime (%)
    
    

12. Sensor false alarm rate (%)
    
    

13. Sensor data latency (milliseconds)
    
    

14. Number of active ISR assets
    
    

15. UAV availability (%)
    
    

16. Satellite coverage area (square km)
    
    

17. Data fusion accuracy (%)
    
    

18. Communication node availability (%)
    
    

19. Bandwidth capacity (Gbps)
    
    

20. Frequency of data packet loss (%)
    
    

Force Readiness and Status

21. Personnel readiness rate (%)
    
    

22. Equipment operational availability (%)
    
    

23. Weapon system status (operational/non-operational)
    
    

24. Ammunition stock levels (units)
    
    

25. Fuel reserves (liters)
    
    

26. Maintenance backlog (days)
    
    

27. Training participation rate (%)
    
    

28. Medical readiness (%)
    
    

29. Cyber defense readiness index
    
    

30. Number of active deployments
    
    

Logistics and Supply Chain

31. Supply chain disruption frequency
    
    

32. Inventory turnover rate
    
    

33. Delivery latency (hours/days)
    
    

34. Transportation asset availability (%)
    
    

35. Fuel consumption rate (liters/day)
    
    

36. Security incidents on supply routes
    
    

37. Convoy threat level index
    
    

38. Warehouse capacity utilization (%)
    
    

39. Repair part availability (%)
    
    

40. Logistics cost efficiency
    
    

Cybersecurity and Electronic Warfare

41. Cyber threat detection rate (%)
    
    

42. Successful defense rate (%)
    
    

43. System compromise incidents (count)
    
    

44. Incident response time (minutes)
    
    

45. Electronic jamming incidents (count)
    
    

46. Active electronic countermeasures (%)
    
    

47. Communication signal quality (%)
    
    

48. Encryption coverage (%)
    
    

49. Zero-day vulnerability detection rate
    
    

50. Number of phishing attacks detected
    
    

Command and Control Efficiency

51. Decision latency (seconds)
    
    

52. Network latency (milliseconds)
    
    

53. Operational command centers online
    
    

54. AI-generated actionable insights per hour
    
    

55. Operator workload index
    
    

56. Communication integrity score (%)
    
    

57. Interoperability with allied forces (%)
    
    

58. Joint exercise success rate (%)
    
    

59. Red team exercise results (vulnerabilities found)
    
    

60. Chain of command adherence rate (%)
    
    

Environmental and Geospatial Data

61. Weather condition index (scale)
    
    

62. Sea state (Beaufort scale)
    
    

63. Terrain accessibility score
    
    

64. Electromagnetic spectrum availability (%)
    
    

65. Satellite imagery update frequency (minutes/hours)
    
    

66. Natural disaster alerts (count)
    
    

67. Solar storm activity index
    
    

68. Urban density measurement
    
    

69. Environmental hazard reports (count)
    
    

70. Geospatial intelligence update rate
    
    

Strategic and Policy Metrics

71. Budget utilization rate (%)
    
    

72. Recruitment rate (new personnel/month)
    
    

73. Public support level (%)
    
    

74. International partnership activities (count)
    
    

75. Treaty compliance status (%)
    
    

76. R&D investment amount (CAD)
    
    

77. Cyber policy adherence (%)
    
    

78. Legal incident count
    
    

79. Diplomatic interaction frequency
    
    

80. Information security compliance (%)
    
    

AI and Automation Performance

81. AI system uptime (%)
    
    

82. Decision accuracy (%)
    
    

83. False positive rate (%)
    
    

84. False negative rate (%)
    
    

85. Autonomous system deployments (count)
    
    

86. AI model retraining frequency (days)
    
    

87. Data integrity score (%)
    
    

88. Response latency (milliseconds)
    
    

89. Human override frequency (count)
    
    

90. Vulnerability scans completed (count)
    
    

Miscellaneous Critical Metrics

91. Friendly fire incidents (count)
    
    

92. Casualty rates (%)
    
    

93. Psychological readiness index
    
    

94. Counterintelligence successes (count)
    
    

95. Unmanned system losses (count)
    
    

96. Fuel contamination incidents (count)
    
    

97. Operational tempo (missions per week)
    
    

98. Legal and ethical violation reports
    
    

99. Media incident frequency (count)
    
    

100. Whistleblower reports (count)
     
     

Discussion

The vast and diverse array of metrics reflects the multidimensional nature of national defense. AI systems must synthesize data spanning physical threats, cyber domains, environmental conditions, human factors, and strategic directives to produce actionable intelligence and operational guidance. Prioritization ensures that resources are allocated efficiently, enhancing situational awareness, reducing reaction times, and improving mission success rates (Smith & Jones, 2021; Evans, 2024).

For instance, rapid threat detection combined with high-confidence assessment allows preemptive defensive actions. Logistics metrics support sustained operations, while cyber and electronic warfare indicators safeguard vital information infrastructure. Command and control metrics measure responsiveness and coordination, and environmental data contextualizes operational decisions. Strategic and policy metrics ensure compliance and long-term sustainability, while AI performance metrics guarantee reliability and security in autonomous systems.

Conclusion

Implementing AI as an integral component of the Canadian DND and CAF demands comprehensive access to a wide spectrum of metrics. The prioritized top 100 metrics outlined here offer a framework for designing AI systems capable of supporting modern defense challenges. Future research should focus on refining these metrics and integrating them into adaptive, resilient AI architectures for national security.

References

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