Published on •Updated
The UK and Germany plan to test, develop and eventually deploy artificial intelligence in their armed forces together, British Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has said.
Writing in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung ahead of talks with his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, in Berlin on Monday afternoon, Streeting said the two countries would expand an existing joint cybersecurity project, known as Cyber Lighthouse, to cover AI.
“Through joint testing, development and ultimately the introduction of AI in our armed forces, we will deepen our cooperation and keep pace with those who seek to harm us,” he wrote.
Government and industry representatives from both countries are due to meet in spring 2027 to work out how the plan will be carried out. No specific AI systems, programmes or budgets have yet been announced.
Streeting said German companies had committed £800 million (about €956 million) to the UK defence industry since the two countries signed a defence pact in 2024.
They include Munich-based Helsing, which opened a factory in Plymouth last year to build AI-powered underwater gliders designed to track hostile submarines.
AI is playing a growing role in warfare. The International Committee of the Red Cross has warned that an arms race is already under way and has called for “legally binding rules on autonomous weapon systems”.