25 August 2021

Janes at the heart of the British Army's first AI-driven battlefield operation

The trusted global agency for open-source defence intelligence is proud to have played a major role in the first use of Artificial Intelligence on deployed operations by the British Army during Exercise ‘Spring Storm’.

Interconnecting with third-party data and systems, Janes foundational intelligence was integral during the first use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on deployed operations by the British Army. Soldiers from the 20^th Armoured Infantry Brigade used an AI engine – incorporating Janes interconnected intelligence – to provide information on the surrounding environment and terrain.

“For the past two years, Janes has been partnering with the British Army on this particular project to interconnect our trusted, assured open-source intelligence and support the algorithms developed by the Enhanced Command and Control Spearhead (EC2SPHD). Janes data was a foundational component to this operation, powering various algorithms as well as supporting the connection, standardisation, and contextualisation of other MoD data in the system.” said Ben Conklin, Chief Product Officer at Janes.

About the EC2SPHD

In May 2021 AI was used for the first time on deployed operations by the British Army with soldiers from the 20^th Armoured Infantry Brigade using an AI engine. The AI engine uses automation and smart analytics along with supervised learning algorithms to save time and effort and help military personnel operate much more effectively. By instantly exploiting information on the surrounding environment and terrain, the AI makes it much quicker to plan and analyse different courses of action.

“We strive to support our customers through accelerated decision making, and with the development of the EC2SPHD – with Janes assured foundational intelligence at its core – the British Army is able to rapidly cut through masses of complex data, enabling the Army to plan appropriate activity and outputs by providing efficient information regarding the operational environment,” said Conklin.

The AI engine was delivered by the Enhanced Command and Control Spearhead (EC2SPHD). The EC2SPHD programme is tasked with rapidly investigating emerging technologies, including automation, AI, machine learning, and ways of working to reduce the cognitive burden on human input and speed up the decision-making process for the benefit of Defence. The programme is being delivered by a MoD-industry consortium including IBM, ESRI, Janes, and personnel from the Army Directorate of Information and Dstl.

For more about the 'Future Soldier', part of the British Army, click here:  https://www.army.mod.uk/news-and-events/events/future-soldier/

About Janes (www.janes.com/whatwedo)

The Janes stamp of trust means supplying our customers with timely, validated, unbiased, and relevant intelligence in a world crowded with increasingly unreliable information. With an unmatched legacy of more than 120 years, Janes has adapted, expanded, and developed its unique tradecraft while transitioning from a traditional military publisher to the leading global agency for open-source defence intelligence.

About Janes Interconnected Intelligence

Janes has interconnected millions of assured data points across Janes foundational intelligence to deliver the single source of truth. The new solution increases decision certainty, interconnecting Janes assured intelligence across military capabilities and order of battle, events, equipment, markets, forecasts, and manufacturers. The ability to interconnect, contextualise and integrate Janes foundational intelligence with third-party and customers’ own data delivers a consistent framework that supports the exploitation of all intelligence sources in a shareable, actionable manner, resulting in a more complete and assured assessment. 

Interconnecting with third-party data and systems, Janes foundational intelligence was integral dur...

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