UK hosts inaugural AUKUS AI trial

The Blue Bear Ghost fixed-wing UAV tested during the inaugural AUKUS AI and autonomy trial. (Crown Copyright)

The UK hosted the first AUKUS artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomy trial in April to promote synergies between Australian, UK, and US AI-enabled assets.

Held at Upavon in Wiltshire, the exercise involved collaboratively swarming the different AI platforms to detect and track military targets in real time in a representative environment, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 26 May.

The trial incorporated platforms such as the Challenger 2 and the Warrior armoured vehicle, the Viking unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), an FV433 Abbot self-propelled gun, and the Eastern Bloc BMP OT-90 armoured personnel carrier alongside unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) – Blue Bear Ghost and Insitu CT220.

Together, the teams developed joint machine learning (ML) models for the platforms that were subsequently modified “in flight” to incorporate new targets and adapt to changing mission scenarios – a world first. This data and the AI models were shared among the three partners, the MoD said.

This co-operation comes under the AUKUS Advanced Capabilities Pillar (Pillar 2), which seeks to assess a range of advanced technologies that promote security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Within this, the countries have been collaborating to accelerate the collective understanding of AI and autonomy, while attempting to better comprehend how to rapidly field these technologies in complex operations. All parties are ensuring the safe and responsible adoption of AI, the announcement added.