The UK has tested AI-powered drones to detect landmines and explosive ordnance in trials with British Army units. The system uses sensors and retrainable AI models to identify threats, with further trials planned for operational deployment.
The Royal Navy has received XV Excalibur, the UK’s first extra-large uncrewed submarine, following a series of long-range control demonstrations and a world-first quantum navigation trial. The 12-metre, 19-tonne vessel will undergo two years of sea testing as the UK expands autonomous undersea capabilities under Project Cetus and wider defence initiatives.
The UK has launched Atlantic Bastion, a hybrid undersea warfare programme integrating autonomous systems, AI and traditional naval assets to protect critical infrastructure amid rising Russian submarine activity.
Nokia and Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment Ltd) have invested €100 million in NestAI as part of a new partnership to develop AI-enabled defence and critical-infrastructure technologies, focusing on unmanned systems and advanced command-and-control capabilities.
