Britain to share missile designs and battlefield data to develop AI weapons
London: Britain will develop new defence systems with Ukraine by gaining access to battlefield data that can help train artificial intelligence programs that support future weapons, despite warnings from Russia against the deepening cooperation.
The pact will also see Britain share confidential missile designs so that Ukrainian companies can make the weapons inside their country in the hope of countering Russian airstrikes, amid new warnings about a shortage of air defence systems.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that the country faced a “funding gap” of €27 billion ($44 billion) and needed help such as bringing forward European Union loans, as he marked the nation’s independence day on Monday.
Zelensky welcomed leaders including British Prime Minister Andy Burnham to ceremonies in Kyiv at a time of mounting risks for Ukrainian civilians, as the country confronts a shortage of Patriot interceptor missiles to counter Russian attacks.
Burnham promised help on this front by agreeing to give Ukraine the designs for the Storm Shadow missile, a weapon that is launched from a jet fighter to reach a target as much as 250km away.
The move is a significant show of support for Ukraine at a time when Zelensky is seeking help from US President Donald Trump to share the design of the Patriot systems in the hope they can be manufactured in Ukraine, alleviating the missile shortage.
The missile plans dominated media coverage of Burnham’s visit to Kyiv – his first as prime minister – to join other western leaders at the ceremonies, while a Kremlin spokesman declared that Britain was adding “fuel to the fire” in conflict.
When reporters asked Burnham about the Kremlin’s comment, he responded: “Who started the fire? That’s the question, isn’t it?”
Only after the headlines about the missile deal, however, did the news emerge that Britain would receive battlefield data from a Ukrainian tech centre, known as the Avengers Labs, to develop AI systems that can power drones and autonomous weapons.
“The platform provides real-world data and insights to train AI models, collected by thousands of daylight cameras and infrared sensors across the battlefield in Ukraine,” the UK government said.
“Those sensors and cameras capture millions of objects, such as tanks, artillery, air defence systems, infantry, and aerial targets, including Shahed drones and reconnaissance UAVs, feeding back data to the Avengers Lab to train new AI models.”
One project will explore the development of low-power AI chips designed to power future drones, robotics and autonomous systems.
“If successful, the technology could underpin a new generation of intelligent machines capable of operating for longer, responding faster and functioning in environments where conventional systems struggle,” the UK said.
Burnham visited a Kyiv shopping centre hit by a Russian strike in May, before being given a guitar by a Ukrainian soldier. The prime minister played the guitar briefly before hearing Ukrainian troops sing an Oasis song.
While Britain is sharing valuable missile designs, the move is not expected to bolster Ukrainian defences in the near-term because of the challenge of manufacturing the weapons.
Zelensky is urgently seeking help from Trump to ensure Ukraine can make its own versions of the Patriot interceptors, which are now in short supply after being heavily used to counter Iranian missile and drone attacks in the Middle East.
Arun Dawson, a researcher at the Freeman Air and Space Institute at King’s College London, told the Associated Press that the UK plan would not help Ukraine through the coming northern winter and would probably not have an effect until next year, at the earliest.
“What Ukraine needs is protection from Russian ballistic missile attacks,” he said.
The Storm Shadow is known as the SCALP when made and deployed in France. The missile design is used by the British, French and Italian air forces.
The missile would give Ukraine a deeper offensive capability, Dawson told the Associated Press.
“You can use it to take out the Russian sites from which they are launching these ballistic missiles,” he said.
With AP
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David Crowe is Europe correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.