UK opens defence innovation contest to find cooperative talking missiles

The UK’s Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is hoping to identify, fund, and develop the new category of cooperative missiles, which can communicate with each other, share situational awareness, and organise themselves to “work together” efficiently during an engagement to achieve a common objective.

The DASA cross-government team, which includes members from defence, security, the private sector, and academia, are interested in the technology to support the defence and security of the UK.

Proposals are invited for the “It’s Good for Missiles to Talk” competition and multiple selected pitches are expected to attract around $190,000 to $575,000 in funding over the maximum project duration of 12 months.

“The implementation of cooperative missiles will offer UK armed forces’ enhanced capability, providing a significant advantage in comparison to current capability,” according to a public statement published by the DASA on 5 December.

“There are many benefits that can be realised. For example, considering collateral damage during missions or live safety data updates if non-combatants enter the battlefield post-launch.

“Cooperative missiles can share this vital information to ensure an abort function is carried out live during a mission, under human operator authority.

“It is important to note that the operation of UK missile systems will always remain under human control and we are only interested in technologies that could enable cooperation between missiles within this context.”

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The competition has five areas of challenges, including distributed target detection and identification, data processing on board and between missiles, finding and engaging multiple targets distributed over a wide area, enhanced navigation through cooperation, and lastly, novel missile communications systems. Submissions close Tuesday, 20 February next year.

Earlier this year, the UK Ministry of Defence also announced plans to integrate artificial intelligence into military operations such as beach landings and engineering tooling.

The MOD conducted one of their largest ever maritime artificial intelligence data capture trials with beach landings involving 130 personnel, 13 vessels, uncrewed aircraft, and more than 50 cameras in Hampshire, South East England.

The five-day, large-scale maritime and beach-landing exercise conducted by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) was designed to enable the development of new defence artificial intelligence products.

Each landing generates a data representative of different behavioural traits by observing personnel boarding and leaving vehicles in different ways. Visual, infrared, sonar and radar data can then be used to train artificial intelligence algorithms to recognise objects, such as other vessels.

“Investing in new technology provides our Armed Forces with the tools they need to stay ahead of emerging threats and ensures our national security in an ever-evolving technological landscape,” according to Minister for Defence Procurement James Cartlidge.

“Innovative, data-driven exercises like this demonstrate how AI can enhance our military capabilities, enabling us to respond more efficiently to the threats of today and tomorrow.”

More than 12 industry and international partners collaborated in the trial, supported by Royal Navy and British Army personnel.

“This was an ambitious and challenging trial which builds on the experience and expertise gained during the previous land-based exercise,” according to Dstl’s trial technical authority Charlie Maslen.

“Conducting a trial with sensors spanning three domains – land, sea and air – involving 12 separate industry partners was immensely complex. Added to which, we were hampered on two days by 40-knot winds.

“Data generated by the trial will enable MOD and industry partners to develop new AI products for Defence, helping keep UK forces safe and delivering operational advantage. Being able to guarantee the integrity of the data underlines MOD’s commitment to the ethical, safe, and responsible use of AI.

In addition, the MOD also tested its new artificial intelligence defence software tool, “Motherlode”, to process aircraft maintenance data quickly, reducing lengthy problem-solving tasks at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton. That project is a collaboration between HMNB Portsmouth’s 1710 Naval Air Squadron, DE&S Digital AI Team, and the Royal Navy Engineers.

The artificially intelligent tool is designed to solve engineering problems in seconds by identifying faults with equipment before they become problematic, improving vehicle readiness and repair.

Investing in artificial intelligence is paramount to the continued modernisation of the UK Armed Forces and is a priority for the government, according to Minister Cartlidge.

“By investing in the power of artificial intelligence, we are ensuring that our defensive assets are not only technologically superior, but also operate with precision, efficiency, and amplified safety,” he said.

“We should be proud to harness the UK’s exceptional AI talent and foster the collaboration between our brightest minds in technology and the future of defence capabilities.”

The full capability is expected to be rolled out by the end of 2023 across all Royal Navy helicopters and is being explored for use on other Defence equipment, such as Foxhound land-based vehicles.

More than £100 million of funding was announced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to pursue the creation of the Frontier AI Taskforce in the United Kingdom.