LONDON (dpa-AFX) - British companies will gain access to a significant amount of battlefield data from Ukraine for the first time to develop new AI models for advanced drone swarms.
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.
UK's Ministry of Defense has announced that it 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, the Defense Ministry said in a press release.
The database includes sensor information from over 6 million detections of objects such as tanks, artillery, air defense systems, infantry, and aerial targets, including Shahed drones and reconnaissance Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles.
Iran has been allegedly supplying Russia with Shahed drones to give it upper hand in the Ukraine war.
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 defense requirements, according to the Defense Ministry. 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, it added.
This comes as the UK Prime Minister announced the launch of work between the UK and US on a new AI and Autonomy partnership at the UN General Assembly in New York. This collaboration will help the UK protect critical national infrastructure, from sea lanes to air space - enabling the country to detect threats and deter adversaries using the latest AI technology developed on both sides of the Atlantic.
'This world-first access to real battlefield data will allow British companies to continue pushing the frontier of defense innovation, deterring our enemies and making us safer at home as well as further strengthening Ukraine,' UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting MP said.
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