Former Croatian Navy chief Robert Hranj joins international AI defence advisory board

Retired admiral Robert Hranj, a former Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces (OSRH), has been appointed to an international advisory board focused on artificial intelligence and autonomous military systems, according to Večernji list.

The board brings together 18 military and technology experts from 13 countries. It has been set up as part of a new initiative called the Intelligent & Autonomous Defence Systems Summit (IADSS).

The initiative is run by Great Minds Event Management, a private company based in Dubai that organises international defence conferences.

Who else is on board

Hranj sits alongside several senior figures from abroad. They include General Manoj Mukund Naravane, who led the Indian Army from 2019 to 2022, and British General Ian Cave, until recently the UK's military representative to NATO and the EU.

Also named are former US Rear Admiral Patrick Hayden, French Brigadier General Olivier Kempf and Issah Adam Yakubu, a former commander of the Ghanaian navy.

What the board aims to do

The stated goal is to connect the armed forces, research institutions and the defence industry, and to encourage cooperation on new military technologies. These technologies are increasingly changing the way wars are fought.

The report does not detail how often the board will meet or what formal powers it will have. It appears to act as an advisory body shaping discussions around the summit, rather than a government or NATO structure.

For Croatia, the appointment is a sign that a former top commander's expertise is being sought in a fast-moving international debate on how AI and autonomy should be developed and used in defence.