Related Articles<\/p>\n
How the use of artificial intelligence will affect the US Coast Guard\u2019s acquisitions<\/a><\/p>\n Thales looks to boost DigitalCrew system through AI and human-machine teaming trials<\/a><\/p>\n How AI is reshaping defence procurement through sustainment<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cOur warfighters are leveraging a variety of advanced AI tools [and] these systems help us sift through vast amounts of data in seconds, so our leaders can cut through the noise and make smarter decisions faster than the enemy can react,\u201d Cooper said.<\/p>\n \u201cHumans will always make final decisions but advanced AI tools can turn processes that used to take hours and sometimes even days into seconds.\u201d<\/p>\n Delivering the punch faster<\/p>\n The UK has embedded the use of AI into its existing C2, intelligence and battle management structures as well as supporting the development of AI in a hands-on way.<\/p>\n An example of this is Adarga\u2019s Vantage<\/a> system which builds on the company\u2019s Knowledge Platform which was developed over a period of six years with the latter evaluated as part of a Capability Concept Demonstrator under a multimillion-pound contract. The system processes, organises and analyses open source material as well as information held by the user\u2019s military, security and intelligence services.<\/p>\n More broadly, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) established the Defence Artificial Intelligence Centre (DAIC), according to the MoD, to \u201cchampion, enable and innovate AI across UK defence\u201d. It is designed to work collaboratively with government, industry, academia and allies for the strategic advantage of armed forces.<\/p>\n The MoD defines key functions of the DAIC as \u201cto increase the quality of decision-making and tempo of operations and enhance the mass, persistence, reach and effectiveness of military forces\u201d.<\/p>\n Integrating AI across the UK forces<\/p>\n Thales UK is this month delivering an AI capability into the UK\u2019s Multi-Domain Mission Support System (MD MSS), a data platform for management, exploitation and distribution of critical mission, environmental and intelligence data.<\/p>\n At its core, MD MSS processes, transmits and manipulates complex mission data, from multiple sources and locations, to deliver critical information at speed to aircrew and ground-based planners.<\/p>\n MD MSS is used on the F-35B Lightning II, Typhoon, Poseidon, Voyager and Chinook aircraft and is also installed aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, supporting air operations by the Carrier Strike Group.<\/p>\n The AI segment was developed by the company\u2019s cortAIx facility which brings together a range of Thales capabilities. It is well established in France and last year a UK facility was established which was instrumental in the MD MSS work.<\/p>\n Speaking to Shephard, Darren Shepherd, business director for Thales integrated airspace protection systems, said the AI component provided faster decision making by using data to create a clearer picture.<\/p>\n \u201cFor example, if you\u2019ve got a maritime picture that is showing thousands of boats in real time going down the English Channel or in the North Sea and everything else, the end user will see a very cluttered picture,\u201d Shepherd said.<\/p>\n \u201c[There\u2019s] a ferry that\u2019s going backwards and forwards between Northern Ireland and Scotland and that\u2019s a straight track.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the system sees any tracks like that, ignore them, and it will then declutter it by searching the rest of the area and looking not for identical things but similar things of a similar nature and it will then remove it to declutter the map.<\/p>\n \u201cAnother good example would be if something behaves in an abnormal way, so you might see a ship is doing zig-zags in the North Sea, which tends to be a trait of these Russian shadow fleet that are trying to drag up our cables. You can let the system know to be alert to this anytime in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n A key aspect of the AI now underpinning MD MSS is Frugal Learning, one of the first applications of the system from the cortAIx Factory establishment which is designed to use substantially less data as opposed to the traditional terabytes of information.<\/p>\n AI and the procurement bank balance<\/p>\n UK company Whitespace, co-founded by CEO Paul Jenkinson who has spent decades working in the technology space, has been working with AI in the defence sector since 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cGen Patrick Saunders, then head of UK Strategic Command, came to us and said he had a $100 billion problem over the next decade in buying things that were not large platforms. It\u2019s from sniper rifles to satellite systems to C2, hundreds of programmes,\u201d Paul Jenkinson told Shephard.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said they were making decisions on the back of a spreadsheet but this is way more complicated than that and we said \u2018You\u2019re absolutely right\u2019 so we built them a decision intelligence platform using AI to help them understand their investment portfolio.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a result of this work, Whitespace was asked to look at other complex AI problems and then into ChatGPT as two different solutions. So, when ChatGPT came out, everyone\u2019s like, \u2018All right, this could be really interesting\u2019 but what the MoD didn\u2019t know is that they already had that capability.\u201d<\/p>\n At the sharper end, Whitespace supported Project Asgard as part of the Exercise\u00a0Arrcade Strike, a major multinational effort led by HQ Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC)\u00a0focused on future operational command and coordination in complex and contested environments.<\/p>\n Asgard forms part of the work to create a wider digital targeting web across the UK\u2019s Armed Forces by 2027, backed by more than \u00a31 billion in funding. Within Asgard, the UK MoD awarded 26 companies contracts in April this year under the Digital Decision Accelerators for Defence (DDAD) programme which could be worth as much as \u00a3180 million.<\/p>\n Also at the sharp end, Whitespace\u2019s fully integrated sovereign AI capability, Operational Learning (Saga), was integrated into Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Roving Edge Infrastructure aboard HMS Prince of Wales. This is designed to enable the UK Royal Navy (RN) to use its sovereign AI platform to support the UK\u2019s national security whether HMS Prince of Wales is in national waters or deployed abroad.<\/p>\n Whitespace developed Collective, a modular AI operating system for high-risk environments. Within Collective, Saga provides an intuitive, app-like interface that allows RN personnel to capture lessons, review mission data and access tailored AI support in one secure environment.<\/p>\n \u201cThe core of [AI] technology is about how do you make more effective decisions, how do you make smarter decisions, and I think the way we see things is that we\u2019ve gone through the first declaration of an AI revolution,\u201d Jenkinson said.<\/p>\n \u201c[AI] only cares about maths; it doesn\u2019t care about anything else. So where you\u2019re looking at [a troubled programme], the emotional way you think about it is, \u2018Well, we\u2019ve already spent \u00a3500 million [so]\u00a0we have to do the next \u00a3250 million\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cHumans find it really hard to cancel things whereas AI would just say, \u2018The logic is [to get out]\u2019, because it\u2019s also looking at what other programmes could be done as a consequence. It could say, \u2018Actually, that money could be used so much better on a modular capability\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n Tri-national AUKUS effort drives experimentation<\/p>\n While the\u00a0future submarine programme under Pillar 1\u00a0of the Australia-UK-US\u00a0(AUKUS) agreement\u00a0is the big-ticket attention-grabber, Pillar 2 is just as pivotal and has progressed more quickly when it comes to\u00a0producing results.<\/p>\n Pillar 2 is described as providing advanced capabilities such as next-generation weapons, hypersonic and counter-hypersonic missiles and\u00a0systems, cyber and quantum technologies as well as AI and autonomy.<\/p>\n In 2024, the three nations trialled the integration of autonomy and AI through the deployment of a series of AI-enabled uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) to reduce the time it takes to identify enemy targets.<\/p>\n A key feature was an effort to show practical applications. In one case this involved\u00a0a plug-in for the Tactical Assault Kit (TAK), a map-based software application that helped a UK UAS detect opposing force locations using on-the-fly adjustments based on the data collected. This then saw another UAS providing detailed imagery as confirmation.<\/p>\n The information was passed to the Tactical Operations Center where a uniformed AI officer provided human oversight prior to triggering an Australian XT-8 UAS to perform a simulated strike.<\/p>\n With experimentation, development and fielding still far down the road, a key question will be how to create an empirical measure to demonstrate the effectiveness of AI capabilities to justify potential changes to procurement priorities.<\/p>\n The science fiction film-style dystopian scenario of AI causing substantial undesired effects will also need to be considered in terms of tactics, techniques and procedures, most particularly the use of AI within rules of engagement.<\/p>\n Shephard\u2019s Farnborough International Airshow coverage is sponsored by MBDA<\/p>\n AUKUS-SSNs\/SSN(R) Astute Replacement Programme [UK]<\/a><\/p>\n Related Equipment in Defence Insight<\/p>\n![\"AI,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/fcc933a37d60426761a6cdbeb13ac3be.jpg\"\/)
Thales AI software has been integrated into the UK\u2019s Multi-Domain Mission Support System. (Image: Thales)<\/p>\n![\"AI,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/637ae771ffa903f7f0993ae396f0711e.jpg\"\/)
Whitespace\u2019s AI software was used in Exercise Arccade Strike, part of Project Asgard. (Photo: UK MoD\/Crown Copyright)<\/p>\n![\"AI,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/e0327d19faf20a9768a5ee80da879c8c.jpg\"\/)
Under AUKUS Pillar 2, drones have been integrated with AI for attack and target exercises. (Photo: US Department of Defense)<\/p>\n![\"MBDA\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ai\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/795b6774165a27d169ddd48c13d0e485.jpg\")
<\/a>Related Programmes in Defence Insight<\/p>\n