Issued by: Ministry of Defence

British companies will gain access to a goldmine of battlefield data from Ukraine for the first time to develop new AI models for advanced drone swarms.

• New AI-enabled drone swarms will be made in Britain, using battlefield data from Ukraine.

• Coveted database available to up to 12 UK companies under inaugural competition which will move to testing at pace.

• This advanced technology could boost the UK’s ability to deliver supplies and target enemy capabilities, as the Prime Minister’s AI Taskforce puts AI to work to strengthen national security and reindustrialise Britain.

The UK is the first international partner to access Ukraine’s coveted Avengers AI Labs, following a landmark deal struck by Prime Minister Andy Burnham and President Zelenskyy in Kyiv. The database holds imagery and video gathered by uncrewed aerial systems in Ukraine, using daylight and thermal sensors, and is used to develop, train and evaluate AI models.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is now inviting UK companies to submit proposals for how they would use the data to create AI models for the next generation of battlefield drones. This is the first competition under the UK-Ukraine AI Partnership and could see the creation of models that let drone swarms keep working when communications are degraded or satellite navigation is unavailable.

Drone swarms can fly, swim or drive autonomously, using AI to work together, identify threats and targets and reach decisions, always with appropriate human involvement. For UK forces, that means a small number of sailors, soldiers and aircrew could direct large numbers of drones at once, on tasks from logistics resupply to precise targeting of enemy capabilities and hunting submarines in the North Atlantic.

This comes as the Prime Minister drove forward global work on AI at the UN General Assembly in New York, both to ensure it is being used as a force for good and to maximise opportunities to use the technology to deliver safety and security for people at home. The Prime Minister announced the launch of work between the UK and US on a new AI and Autonomy partnership. This collaboration will help the UK protect critical national infrastructure, from sea lanes to air space – enabling us to detect threats and deter our adversaries using the latest AI technology developed on both sides of the Atlantic.

Defence Secretary, Wes Streeting MP said:

"Ukraine is the frontline of freedom for us all. On my recent visit to Kyiv, I saw first-hand the courage and resilience of the Ukrainian people. I also saw the extraordinary innovation which is allowing them to repel Putin’s illegal and unprovoked invasion.

"This world-first access to real battlefield data will allow British companies to continue pushing the frontier of defence innovation, deterring our enemies and making us safer at home as well as further strengthening Ukraine."

AI Minister Kanishka Narayan said:

"This is the Prime Minister’s AI Taskforce delivering: bringing together Ukraine’s hard-won battlefield experience with Britain’s best AI companies to develop and deploy capabilities faster.

"It is exactly the kind of practical partnership the Taskforce was set up to drive, supporting our ally Ukraine while strengthening sovereign capability here in Britain."

The database includes sensor information from over 6 million detections of objects, such as tanks, artillery, air defence systems, infantry, and aerial targets, including Shahed drones and reconnaissance Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles.

Access to the extensive database will be initially available for up to 12 UK companies and their proposals must be applicable to both Ukrainian and British defence requirements. To advance this work at pace, those companies will be selected in just a matter of weeks and their exploitation of the data is expected to begin soon after.

The work is being led by the MOD’s Taskforce RAID (Rapid AI Delivery) – a team dedicated to ensuring soldiers, sailors and aircrew have access to smarter technology that helps them make better decisions, take on dangerous tasks with less risk, and outpace adversaries who are rapidly developing their own AI capabilities.

The activity demonstrates the Prime Minister’s AI Taskforce turning the Government’s ambitions for AI into real-world capability. Working jointly with the MOD’s Taskforce RAID they are harnessing British expertise to strengthen national security, support our allies and reindustrialise Britain by building the industries of the future here in the UK.

The recent agreement, which forms a key part of the UK and Ukraine’s 100 Year Partnership, underlines the close relationship between both countries to drive global security and stability and ensure Ukraine has the capability and means to defend itself from Russia’s barbaric invasion.

Background

The MOD is seeking innovative proposals covering one or more of the following areas within drone operations:

• Autonomous Target Recognition: AI-enabled detection, classification, prioritisation and tracking of operationally relevant objects across complex and contested environments.

• Distributed Decision-Making: Enabling multiple autonomous systems to dynamically adapt routes, priorities and behaviours in response to changing battlefield conditions, without relying on a single point of control.

• Adaptive Mission Execution: AI approaches enabling multiple autonomous systems to coordinate actions under constrained communications and decentralised control.

• Collaborative Sensing and Information Fusion: Methods for sharing, fusing and exploiting information across multiple platforms and sensors to improve situational awareness and mission effectiveness.

For further details about the competition, and to apply, please go to the following: Submission Portal [https://surveys.mod.uk/index.php/861669]

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