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Personnel have leveraged AI technology for the first time during a military exercise in Europe.
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The British Army’s 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade has deployed an artificial intelligence (AI) engine as part of Exercise Spring Storm in Estonia — an annual military exercise aimed at strengthening interoperability between NATO troops and the Estonian Defence Forces.
The AI engine, used for the first time during UK-led Operation Cabrit, leveraged automation and smart analytics to provide personnel with information about the surrounding environment and terrain.
The technology is capable of digesting masses of complex data, enabling the Army to plan its activities and outputs.
The capability can be hosted in the cloud or operate in independent mode, providing soldiers with instant planning support, while also supporting command and control processes.
Soldiers from France, Denmark, Belgium, Estonia and the UK used the technology during the NATO exercise, while also carrying out live-fire drills.
“The deployment was a first of its kind for the Army. It built on close collaboration between the MOD and industry partners that developed AI specifically designed for the way the Army is trained to operate,” the British Army’s Director of Information, Major General John Cole, said.
“The lessons this has provided are considerable, not just in terms of our support to deployed forces, but more broadly in how we inform Defence’s digital transformation agenda and the best practices we must adopt to integrate and exploit leading-edge technologies.”
20th Armoured Infantry Brigade, Major James Mcevoy lauded the success of the AI engine during the exercise.
“This was a fantastic opportunity to use a new and innovative piece of technology in a deployed environment,” he said.
“The kit was shown to outperform our expectations and has clear applications for improving our level of analysis and speed at which we conduct our planning. I’m greatly looking forward to further opportunities to work with this.
“In future, the UK armed forces will increasingly use AI to predict adversaries’ behaviour, perform reconnaissance and relay real-time intelligence from the battlefield.”
This forms part of a £6.6 billion investment over the next four years in defence research and development, which focuses on emerging technologies in artificial intelligence, AI-enabled autonomous systems, cyber, space and directed energy systems.
Earlier this week, the Defence Science Technology Laboratory (DSTL) secured £3.5 million ($6.4 million) in funding from the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) to support its Co-operative Strike Weapons Technology Demonstrator (CSWTD) project.
The DSTL-led project aims to improve the flexibility and responsiveness of missile systems by enhancing interoperability between systems through software upgrades, ensuring they can adapt to changes in the battlespace.
The funding is expected to support the delivery of future co-operative missiles, including hardware and software, while also providing systems studies informing the use of co-operative missiles in operational scenarios.
[Related: UK MOD backs development of ‘smarter’ missile systems]
