Ukraine and UK sign historic deal on defense technology and AI
Photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham (www.president.gov.ua)
The UK has signed a partnership agreement with Ukraine. British researchers will gain access to Ukraine’s battlefield data platform for the first time, Reuters reports.
AI partnership agreement
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the agreement in Kyiv.
According to a government statement, the deal makes Britain the first international partner to gain access to Ukraine’s Avengers AI Labs.
Under the agreement, Britain and Ukraine will cooperate on pilot projects involving:
- the use of fiber-optic cables as AI-based sensors to protect military facilities;
- research into low-power AI chips for drones and autonomous systems.
The British government said the partnership would initially focus on defense and national security projects. It will bring together researchers, engineers, technology companies and military experts from both countries.
What is the Avengers
As Ukraine’s Defense Ministry reported earlier in August, Avengers Labs was created using an annotated dataset of 5 million battlefield images. Much of the data was drawn from DELTA, Ukraine’s domestically developed battlefield management and situational awareness system.
The platform uses data collected from cameras and sensors across the battlefield in Ukraine.
The data includes information on tanks, artillery systems, drones and other military targets.
AI models trained on this data are already being used in an automated target detection system. It analyzes more than 100,000 drone videos every month and can identify around 70% of enemy targets in real time.
Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported that Ukraine will independently produce long-range Storm Shadow missiles. Britain has officially approved the transfer of the relevant technology and will involve defense companies in the cooperation.
It was also reported that the British government authorized defense company MBDA to disclose classified information about British components used in the long-range SCALP missile.
In addition, on July 27, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Britain’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham during a visit to the UK. The Ukrainian delegation’s visit was the first since Burnham took office as prime minister.
