Select committee: Defence Committee
2nd Report - Developing AI capacity and expertise in UK defence
HC 590
Published 10 January 2025
At a glance6 recommendations and 38 conclusions · Government response published 4 April 2025
The government's response
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.
The government welcomes the report and agrees with most recommendations, in several cases in general terms or subject to the outcome of the Strategic Defence Review.
- On the Strategic Defence Review, it "agrees in general terms" that specific actions should normalise AI use, though the response "cannot pre-empt the findings of the SDR".
- On the Defence AI Strategy, it believes it is "more pertinent to focus on shaping our future approach" and anticipates the need to refresh its strategic approach, while agreeing that specific, measurable actions will be essential.
- On a new fund to scale innovations, it says ongoing discussions with HM Treasury "prevent a direct response", and will raise the recommendation with the Treasury "where it is appropriate to do so".
- On the Digital Strategy for Defence, it "partially agrees" and plans a refreshed digital strategy with an implementation plan and metrics; it says the Digital Backbone has no completion date.
What the committee recommended 44
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Sources
- 2nd Report - Developing AI capacity and expertise in UK defence ↗The committee's report, HC 590, parliament.uk
- 3rd Special Report – Government response to Developing AI capacity and expertise in UK Defence ↗The government's response, 4 April 2025, parliament.uk
Recommendations and conclusions 44
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The UK has many of the right conditions that would allow it to be a... Conclusion (the committee's words)The UK has many of the right conditions that would allow it to be a global leader in the development of Defence AI, but at present Defence is an under-developed aspect of the AI ecosystem in the UK, and the gap between the UK and the current global leaders in AI, the United States and China, is significant. The UK cannot and should not aim to match those countries’ sectors in terms of scale but should instead seek to specialise in areas of strength and achieve a first-class level of sophistication in these. (Conclusion, Paragraph 15)
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AI is becoming increasingly critical to effective defence, and therefore the UK’s ambition must be... Recommendation (the committee's words)AI is becoming increasingly critical to effective defence, and therefore the UK’s ambition must be to have a first-class Defence AI ecosystem. The MOD should establish measures by which it will compare the UK’s sector against others internationally, so that the sector’s strength relative to those of its peers can be tracked. (Recommendation, Paragraph 16) The Ministry of Defence and AI
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There has been a gap between rhetoric and reality when it comes to Defence AI... Conclusion (the committee's words)There has been a gap between rhetoric and reality when it comes to Defence AI for some time. MOD statements and policy documents speak about Artificial Intelligence as a paradigm-shifting technology for Defence, and the use of AI in theatres such as Ukraine bears this out. Yet the department has not behaved as though this is the case; AI is still treated as a novelty or a niche interest rather than something that will soon be a core component of defence systems across the Armed Forces. If UK Defence is to become AI-enabled the ‘say-do gap’ must be closed. (Conclusion, Paragraph 20)
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The Strategic Defence Review represents an opportunity for the Government to modernise UK defence; one... Conclusion (the committee's words)The Strategic Defence Review represents an opportunity for the Government to modernise UK defence; one way it should do this is by recognising and embracing the ways defence needs to change to reflect the new reality of an AI-enabled world. The Government’s response to the SDR must set out specific actions that will be taken to normalise the use of AI as an enabler across the work of Defence. (Recommendation, Paragraph 21) 52
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The Defence AI Strategy sets appropriate ambitions for how the UK will develop and use... Conclusion (the committee's words)The Defence AI Strategy sets appropriate ambitions for how the UK will develop and use AI in Defence in the future, but MOD has not set out clear action plans for how these will be achieved and how it will measure its progress towards them. This makes it difficult for industry and investors to gauge the seriousness of MOD’s commitment to AI. In turn, this has a suppressive effect on investor confidence and consequently on the growth of AI capacity in the UK. (Conclusion, Paragraph 28)
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As part of its response to the Strategic Defence Review, MOD must clarify whether the... Recommendation (the committee's words)As part of its response to the Strategic Defence Review, MOD must clarify whether the new Government remains committed to the Defence AI Strategy, and provide an update on progress it is making against each of the objectives and actions set out within it. It should set out a clear action plan defining specific actions it will take to further advance each of those objectives and actions and how it will measure and demonstrate success against them. (Recommendation, Paragraph 29)
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Defence AI is evolving rapidly and some aspects of the Defence AI Strategy are already... Conclusion (the committee's words)Defence AI is evolving rapidly and some aspects of the Defence AI Strategy are already outdated. In such a fast-moving field it is important that the Ministry of Defence is alert to new innovations in AI and is willing and able to adapt its approach. The Defence AI Strategy needs to be a dynamic strategy, capable of adapting to changes in the Defence AI landscape over time. Just as defence procurement is moving towards a ‘spiral’ model, MOD needs to be capable of ‘spiralling’ its strategic approach by quickly learning lessons and updating its approach accordingly. (Conclusion, Paragraph 30)
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In its response to this Report, MOD should provide a detailed update on: a) what... Conclusion (the committee's words)In its response to this Report, MOD should provide a detailed update on: a) what it considers to have been the key technological developments in Defence AI since the Defence AI Strategy was published; b) how the use of AI in defence has evolved since the Strategy was published; and c) how the implementation of the Strategy has evolved in response to these changes. By doing this, MOD can demonstrate that it is able to evolve its approach within the parameters of the existing Strategy. (Recommendation, Paragraph 31)
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Despite the existence of pockets of excellence within MOD, the department is by its own... Conclusion (the committee's words)Despite the existence of pockets of excellence within MOD, the department is by its own admission not yet ‘AI ready’. This is concerning because AI is no longer something on the horizon but is already here and being deployed on the frontline. The use of automated analysis and uncrewed systems in Ukraine indicates that AI-enabled systems are and will remain essential to defence; the UK therefore has no choice but to embrace AI as a core defence capability. MOD has started this process but has a long way to go. (Conclusion, Paragraph 36)
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AI ‘readiness’ is hard to define because the technology and its use in defence is... Conclusion (the committee's words)AI ‘readiness’ is hard to define because the technology and its use in defence is evolving so rapidly. It is extraordinarily difficult to predict how AI technology will develop during the lifetime of the Defence AI Strategy, and this makes AI readiness a fast-moving target and a process that will 53 never be fully complete. For this reason, rather than aiming to be ‘AI-ready’ it would be more appropriate for MOD to aim to become an ‘AI-native’ organisation, for which AI is a core part of its toolkit and which is able to use AI instinctively to solve problems and meet its objectives. (Conclusion, Paragraph 37)
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The aspects of readiness identified in the Strategy are all valid ambitions but will not... Conclusion (the committee's words)The aspects of readiness identified in the Strategy are all valid ambitions but will not result in the effective deployment of AI-enabled defence on their own. To accomplish this MOD also needs to achieve a broader cultural change that goes beyond AI. The organisation needs to become more comfortable with rapid change, more open to experimentation and risk and more able to deploy and iterate cheaper, disposable, software-led solutions on faster timelines. There is evidence–including in the Defence AI Strategy and the new Integrated Procurement Model–that MOD understands this, but it is not clear that this has yet resulted in real change or that there is a coherent plan to bring about that change across the organisation. (Conclusion, Paragraph 38)
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Becoming ‘AI ready’ must not be treated as a discrete task but rather as one... Conclusion (the committee's words)Becoming ‘AI ready’ must not be treated as a discrete task but rather as one aspect of a broader transformation of MOD’s culture to become more innovative and adaptable in response to a faster-paced and more complex defence environment. The department should consider this cultural change a necessary condition not just for using AI effectively but for achieving Defence’s aims in modern conflict. MOD must urgently accelerate this transformation. (Recommendation, Paragraph 39)
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Responsibility for AI across Defence is diffuse, and as a result Defence’s approach is not... Conclusion (the committee's words)Responsibility for AI across Defence is diffuse, and as a result Defence’s approach is not as joined up as it should be. The creation of the Defence AI Centre as a focal point for industry engagement and development is welcome, but it has limited scope to influence how AI is adopted across Defence, as demonstrated by the fact that the head of the Defence AI Centre is a one star officer. The kind of change required needs to be driven by senior leaders at the top of the Defence organisation. Driving adoption of AI is not an optional extra but a task for all parts of the organisation, and as such should be a responsibility for the established leadership of MOD. (Conclusion, Paragraph 45)
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In view of the importance of AI to so many aspects of defence, the Chief... Conclusion (the committee's words)In view of the importance of AI to so many aspects of defence, the Chief of the Defence Staff should have lead responsibility for Armed Forces transformation, a major part of which will be embedding the use of Artificial Intelligence in the work of MOD and the Armed Forces and bringing about the cultural change necessary to make the use of AI ‘business as usual’ in defence. Complementing this, Strategic Command should be responsible for ensuring defence AI develops in a coherent way across defence, so that AI is interoperable across the services. (Recommendation, Paragraph 46) 54
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The Defence AI Centre can be a tool for knowledge exchange, responsible for mainstreaming AI... Conclusion (the committee's words)The Defence AI Centre can be a tool for knowledge exchange, responsible for mainstreaming AI and sharing innovation and best practice across the Armed Forces and between industry, the research sector and MOD. To do this it needs to be visible and accessible. The DAIC should have its own premises, so that it can act as a physical focal point for collaboration on Defence AI. The DAIC should host attachments and coordinate placements with industry, with the aim of developing individuals’ AI fluency and expertise that they can then take back to their own branch of the Forces. (Recommendation, Paragraph 47) Developing Defence AI
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As AI becomes an increasingly important component of defence systems, this will change the way... Conclusion (the committee's words)As AI becomes an increasingly important component of defence systems, this will change the way those systems are designed, built and maintained. MOD’s acquisition processes will need to evolve in response. The Integrated Procurement Model’s commitment to spiral development is an encouraging sign that MOD grasps the nature of this challenge. However, it should not underestimate the scale of the change this will require both in terms of its processes and its culture. If the IPM is properly implemented, one of the benefits we would expect to see is more regular development and deployment of AI-enabled defence systems. Work to deliver the spiral development aspects of the IPM must begin now and with urgency. (Conclusion, Paragraph 58)
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In its response to this report, MOD should explain how the Integrated Procurement Model will... Conclusion (the committee's words)In its response to this report, MOD should explain how the Integrated Procurement Model will bring about more regular development and deployment of AI-enabled defence systems. The Model should ensure that it becomes standard MOD procurement practice to consider how AI might deliver or enhance a given defence capability. The Model promises that decisions on major programmes will be informed by independent advice at the pre-concept phase; this advice should include an assessment of the project’s AI-readiness and how it could be AI-enabled. Engagement with industry on the new procurement model should extend beyond the traditional defence sector so that it reaches developers whose software could have dual-use potential but who may not have considered working with Defence before. (Recommendation, Paragraph 59)
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MOD has not provided a clear enough signal to industry of the kind of Defence... Conclusion (the committee's words)MOD has not provided a clear enough signal to industry of the kind of Defence AI it wishes to acquire, or a clear route to market for smaller companies who might want to sell to the department. This has made engaging with defence an uncertain proposition for smaller AI companies and has resulted in limited appetite from investors. (Conclusion, Paragraph 65) 55
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MOD should aim to cultivate a more dynamic ecosystem of smaller AI companies working in... Conclusion (the committee's words)MOD should aim to cultivate a more dynamic ecosystem of smaller AI companies working in Defence. It should do this by: • sending a clear demand signal to those companies about what kind of AI it is interested in acquiring, and clearly signpost how smaller companies—including those who have never worked with MOD before—can access opportunities to sell to the department; • sending a clearer signal to the capital markets that it takes developing an ecosystem of UK AI companies seriously, to increase investor appetite for the sector; • sponsoring promising early stage research and development with potential defence applications, to help develop proofs of concept while building a skills and industry base in the UK; and • developing ways in which start-ups and SMEs can partner with established defence primes to build their capacity and expertise. (Recommendation, Paragraph 66)
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One obstacle to the adoption of AI by Defence is the culture clash between Defence... Conclusion (the committee's words)One obstacle to the adoption of AI by Defence is the culture clash between Defence and the tech industry. Tech’s ‘fail fast’ mindset and model of rapid, iterative development is not something that comes naturally to Defence, but this is something MOD needs to adapt to as AI’s importance grows. The ‘cultural shift’ outlined in the Integrated Procurement Model suggests that MOD understands the need for cultural change, but the department acknowledges that achieving this will be difficult. (Conclusion, Paragraph 67)
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In its response to this report, MOD should set out specific actions it will take... Recommendation (the committee's words)In its response to this report, MOD should set out specific actions it will take to achieve the ‘cultural shift’ envisaged in the Integrated Procurement Model so that decision-makers feel more empowered to pursue innovative solutions, to take calculated risks, and to acknowledge and learn from failures. (Recommendation, Paragraph 68)
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Smaller companies told us there were relatively few opportunities in the UK’s Defence AI ecosystem... Conclusion (the committee's words)Smaller companies told us there were relatively few opportunities in the UK’s Defence AI ecosystem for smaller defence suppliers to win the kind of contracts that would allow them to expand and attract investment. While MOD is good at supporting experimentation and the production of prototypes, it struggles to translate these into fielded and scaled capability. (Conclusion, Paragraph 69)
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MOD should establish a fund within its existing procurement budget for the specific purpose of... Recommendation (the committee's words)MOD should establish a fund within its existing procurement budget for the specific purpose of scaling successful defence innovations, including those which use AI, to help the most successful prototypes translate into fielded and scaled capabilities. (Recommendation, Paragraph 70) 56
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In recognition of the fact that many of the AI companies who might provide services... Conclusion (the committee's words)In recognition of the fact that many of the AI companies who might provide services to defence are smaller than traditional defence suppliers, MOD should design its competitions and contracting processes in such a way as to minimise administrative barriers to entry, to make competition for defence contracts as accessible as possible to outsiders and challengers. We heard that CommercialX has enjoyed significant success in simplifying commercial processes for smaller businesses, and these lessons should be drawn on when tendering for Defence AI. (Recommendation, Paragraph 71) Data and infrastructure
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A mature defence AI ecosystem will require improved digital infrastructure, including cloud networks that enable... Conclusion (the committee's words)A mature defence AI ecosystem will require improved digital infrastructure, including cloud networks that enable developers to work securely with classified data and an increase in overall compute. MOD has set out the right ambitions in the Defence Digital Strategy, but realising these has proved difficult and the department’s plans for a ‘Digital Backbone’ are behind schedule. (Conclusion, Paragraph 77)
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MOD should undertake a mapping exercise to assess the adequacy and the resilience of its... Conclusion (the committee's words)MOD should undertake a mapping exercise to assess the adequacy and the resilience of its digital ecosystem. This should consider, but not be limited to: computing power; secure cloud computing; data centres; availability of semiconductors; quantum computing capacity; and frontier AI models. On the basis of this exercise, the department should identify weaknesses that might constrain the development of Defence AI. (Recommendation, Paragraph 78)
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In its response to this Report, MOD should provide an update on delivery of its... Conclusion (the committee's words)In its response to this Report, MOD should provide an update on delivery of its ‘Digital Backbone’, explaining how it is measuring progress and providing an estimated completion date. (Recommendation, Paragraph 79)
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Defence collects masses of data that could potentially be used to train defence AI models,... Conclusion (the committee's words)Defence collects masses of data that could potentially be used to train defence AI models, but this data is not always easily accessible to those developing defence software. To some extent this is an inevitable challenge when working with sensitive data of the kind Defence holds, but it is a challenge that must be overcome if the UK is to apply AI to defence problems. Even at lower or unclassified levels of data, there is enormous unrealised potential in the data held by Defence that could be unlocked by improving the way data is collected, labelled and shared. The 2021 Data Strategy for Defence shows that MOD has diagnosed the problem and has the right ambitions, but our evidence shows that many of the issues identified in the Data Strategy persist. (Conclusion, Paragraph 84)
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MOD should confirm whether it still intends to fully deliver the Digital Strategy for Defence. Conclusion (the committee's words)MOD should confirm whether it still intends to fully deliver the Digital Strategy for Defence. By July 2025, MOD should provide us with a progress report on each of the Strategic Outcomes identified in the Data Strategy for Defence. It should confirm whether each of these outcomes were 57 fulfilled by 2025, as was set out in the Strategy, and if this is not the case explain the reasons for the delay and confirm new dates for their fulfilment. (Recommendation, Paragraph 85)
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MOD should address the barriers which currently prevent smaller AI companies from using defence data... Conclusion (the committee's words)MOD should address the barriers which currently prevent smaller AI companies from using defence data and so inhibit them from bringing value to defence. It should do this by overcoming the delays companies face in obtaining security clearance for their staff to access such data, designing tenders that enable use of open-source data where appropriate, and making available synthetic datasets for tenders when security demands. (Recommendation, Paragraph 86) Skills and the workforce
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Recruiting and retaining the brightest minds in AI to work on defence problems is a... Conclusion (the committee's words)Recruiting and retaining the brightest minds in AI to work on defence problems is a challenge. Recruitment difficulties exist across STEM disciplines, but the market for AI skills differs in such a way that meeting the challenge requires a targeted approach. (Conclusion, Paragraph 98)
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There is very limited information available on what MOD believes its AI skills needs are;... Conclusion (the committee's words)There is very limited information available on what MOD believes its AI skills needs are; it is therefore difficult to know how MOD understands the skills challenge it faces. (Conclusion, Paragraph 99)
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MOD should carry out a mapping exercise to establish what skills it believes the UK... Conclusion (the committee's words)MOD should carry out a mapping exercise to establish what skills it believes the UK Defence AI sector faces and where shortfalls currently exist. This exercise should also consider how the sector’s skills needs might change in the future as AI evolves. (Recommendation, Paragraph 100)
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As was promised in the Defence AI Strategy, the Ministry of Defence should devise a... Conclusion (the committee's words)As was promised in the Defence AI Strategy, the Ministry of Defence should devise a strategy for supporting individuals with an AI specialism to develop a career in defence. The plan should create viable career paths for AI specialists within MOD and the Armed Forces, and should also establish schemes to enable AI experts to move between the defence and civilian sectors flexibly, including industry placements with defence of the kind used by the National Cyber Security Centre. MOD should also develop recruitment campaigns targeting AI professionals, both for full-time and specialist reservist roles. (Recommendation, Paragraph 101)
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As AI becomes a core part of Defence’s functions, MOD will require not just AI... Conclusion (the committee's words)As AI becomes a core part of Defence’s functions, MOD will require not just AI specialists but greater AI-fluency throughout the organisation, and particularly among its leadership. MOD recognises this and has begun to offer AI training, but at the moment this is very limited and does not reflect the importance of AI to Defence. (Conclusion, Paragraph 102) 58
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MOD should increase the proportion of the Professional Military Education curriculum dedicated to AI, so... Conclusion (the committee's words)MOD should increase the proportion of the Professional Military Education curriculum dedicated to AI, so that current and future defence leaders improve their understanding of AI’s impact on defence and learn how to better exploit it. (Recommendation, Paragraph 103) Cooperation with Allies and AUKUS Pillar 2
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The UK’s AI-enabled defence systems will be most effective if they are interoperable with those... Conclusion (the committee's words)The UK’s AI-enabled defence systems will be most effective if they are interoperable with those of its allies. This will require dialogue between allies to ensure that systems are designed with compatibility in mind. Interoperability will be more easily achieved if the UK and its allies have a mutual understanding of their objectives in developing and deploying defence AI. (Conclusion, Paragraph 107)
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The Government should convene a programme of discussions with the UK’s AUKUS and NATO allies... Recommendation (the committee's words)The Government should convene a programme of discussions with the UK’s AUKUS and NATO allies aimed at reaching a mutual understanding of each other’s AI objectives and strategies. These discussions should also explore reaching, where possible, common positions and standards on how AUKUS and NATO allies will develop and deploy AI in defence. These could include common approaches to data collection and labelling, a shared approach to ethical use of autonomous technologies, and joint working on skills and capacity building. (Recommendation, Paragraph 108)
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Pillar 2 of the AUKUS partnership is a generational opportunity for UK defence to work... Conclusion (the committee's words)Pillar 2 of the AUKUS partnership is a generational opportunity for UK defence to work alongside allies at the frontier of new technologies, including AI, that can transform the future of defence. The ability for UK AI companies to develop defence AI alongside allies should be a catalyst for growing the UK defence AI sector. We welcome recent steps taken by the AUKUS partners to reduce the licensing requirements for exports and technology sharing. (Conclusion, Paragraph 118)
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It is unknown what the new US administration’s approach to AI, to trade policy and... Conclusion (the committee's words)It is unknown what the new US administration’s approach to AI, to trade policy and to defence more widely will be. The Government will need to be alive to new developments as the AUKUS partnership evolves in the coming months and years. We will monitor developments closely. (Conclusion, Paragraph 119)
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The Government should work with the US and Australian Governments to integrate research and development... Recommendation (the committee's words)The Government should work with the US and Australian Governments to integrate research and development in AI between the UK and its AUKUS allies. This could include establishing multinational research centres and fora to normalise collaboration between the countries’ AI sectors. (Recommendation, Paragraph 120) 59 Conclusion
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Artificial Intelligence has the potential to transform defence in fundamental ways, from back office functions... Conclusion (the committee's words)Artificial Intelligence has the potential to transform defence in fundamental ways, from back office functions to the front line, and to provide a decisive advantage in military competition and conflict. We are already seeing AI being deployed effectively in Ukraine, showing that AI is no longer something on the horizon but a reality with which defence must engage. Given the breadth of potential applications of AI there are few areas of defence which would not benefit from being AI-enabled or AI-enhanced, and so MOD needs to start thinking about AI as an integral part of how it solves problems and meets its objectives. This entails both practical and cultural change: MOD requires digital infrastructure to enable the development and deployment of AI but also a change in mindset to adapt to a world where military advantage may increasingly be delivered by digital capabilities and cheaper platforms that can be rapidly developed, deployed and iterated. (Conclusion, Paragraph 121)
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The UK has the potential to be home to a first-class defence AI sector, but... Conclusion (the committee's words)The UK has the potential to be home to a first-class defence AI sector, but at present the sector is under-developed and requires cultivation by MOD. Improving the digital infrastructure, skills base and security clearance situation will help, but the department also needs to adapt its ways of working to make itself a more appealing and effective partner for the sector. It needs to become more comfortable with risk-taking, rapid development cycles and working with non-traditional defence suppliers. (Conclusion, Paragraph 122)
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MOD policy documents recognise the above challenges, but throughout this inquiry witnesses said that the... Conclusion (the committee's words)MOD policy documents recognise the above challenges, but throughout this inquiry witnesses said that the organisation has been slow to change, and that while ‘pockets of excellence’ exist Defence still has a long way to go to achieve the necessary transformation. At a time of rapid progress in the field of AI, MOD must itself adapt rapidly to harness that progress. The ongoing Strategic Defence Review is an ideal moment for Defence to modernise both its capabilities and its mindset for the new AI-enabled era. (Conclusion, Paragraph 123) 60