AI and Defence: Insights from the Strategic Defence Review 2025

The Strategic Defence Review 2025 (SDR) outlines a transformative vision of UK defence, emphasising the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) across various domains to enhance national security and operational effectiveness. This article explores some of the key themes, initiatives, and implications of AI integration.

1. AI as a Core Defence Capability

The SDR recognises AI not as a peripheral tool but as a fundamental component of modern warfare, driving innovation and operational superiority. AI is central to the transformation of the UK’s Armed Forces into a tech-enabled Integrated Force and is expected to enhance decision-making at machine speed, support autonomous systems, and enable dynamic targeting through the creation of a digital “targeting web”, connecting sensors, deciders, and effectors across domains, allowing for rapid, coordinated responses to emerging threats.

2. Digital Infrastructure and Targeting Web

A key enabler of AI integration is the development of secure, interoperable digital infrastructure. The SDR sets a clear mission: to deliver a digital targeting web by 2027, with a minimum viable product by 2026. This web will leverage AI to provide real-time data analysis, optimize operational strategies, and speed up decision-making processes. It represents a shift from platform-centric warfare to data-centric operations and the targeting web will allow Defence to degrade or destroy targets drawing on data from satellites, drones, ships, and cyber sensors. The integration of AI into digital infrastructure ensures that the Armed Forces can operate with agility and precision in a contested cyber and electromagnetic domain.

3. Cyber and AI Integration

Cybersecurity and AI are intertwined in the review, with AI playing a crucial role in defending against cyber threats and enhancing electromagnetic warfare capabilities. The SDR highlights the creation of a new Cyber and Electromagnetic (CyberEM) Command, which will oversee the integration of Ai into cyber operations, electromagnetic warfare, and information operations ensuring robust defence mechanisms and proactive threat mitigation. 

4. Partnerships with Industry and Academia

The MOD is deepening collaboration with UK industry, academia, and NATO allies to drive AI innovation and adoption. The SDR announces the creation of the UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) organisation, with a ringfenced annual budget of at least £400 million. UKDI will harness commercial innovation, including dual-use technologies, and foster partnerships that enhance the UK’s defence capabilities. The MOD will also establish regional technology clusters and anchor partnerships with universities to develop AI talent and research capacity. These collaborations are vital for maintaining technological superiority and ensuring interoperability with NATO forces.

5. AI in Training, Recruitment, and Workforce Development

AI is set to transform training and recruitment within the Armed Forces. The Review advocates for the creation of a Digital Warfighter group to deploy AI-powered systems and conventional warfighters side-by-side. The SDR calls for AI-driven recruitment tools to identify and attract diverse talent, provide flexible career opportunities, and adaptive training programmes that use AI simulations to prepare personnel for complex scenarios. 

6. AI in Equipment and Operations

The integration of AI into military equipment and operations is a key focus of the review. From autonomous drones and uncrewed submarines to AI-assisted targeting and logistics, the SDR envisions a future where AI will be incorporated into the Armed Forces, providing greater accuracy, lethality, and cost-effective solutions. The Army’s “Recce-Strike” model, the RAF’s Future Combat Air System, and the Royal Navy’s hybrid carrier airwings all rely on AI to deliver greater lethality, agility, and survivability. The shift towards AI-enabled equipment ensures that the UK remains at the forefront of technological advancements in defence.

The Strategic Defence Review 2025 outlines a comprehensive and systematic integration of AI across UK Defence, positioning it as a core enabler of operational effectiveness, digital infrastructure, workforce development, and industrial collaboration.

If you would like to discuss defence and how current or future regulations impact what you do with AI, please contact Lucy Owens and Louise Dean in our Defence Team, or Tom Whittaker, Brian Wong, Lucy Pegler, Martin Cook, Liz Smith or any other member in our Technology team.  For the latest on AI law and regulation, see our blog and newsletter.

This article was written by Lucy Owens, Louise Dean and Alice Gillie.