British companies to access prized Ukraine data to develop AI 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.