AI News Monitor

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is set to spend more than £1bn on cutting-edge technology, including artificial intelligence (AI) and drones, to accelerate decision-making on the battlefield, as part of a sweeping overhaul of the country’s defence strategy.

The funding, to be confirmed in the government’s long-awaited strategic defence review on Monday, will support a new “Digital Targeting Web” designed to connect troops with real-time intelligence from satellites, aircraft, and drones—enabling faster strikes against enemy threats.

Defence Secretary John Healey, announcing the plans during a visit to the MoD’s cyber headquarters in Corsham, Wiltshire, said the initiative reflects lessons from Ukraine’s use of AI and software to identify and attack Russian targets with unprecedented speed.

“The keyboard is now a weapon of war, and we are responding to that,” Healey said. “The UK must become the fastest-innovating military in NATO.”

The review, commissioned by Labour after last year’s election, marks the first major reassessment of Britain’s defence posture in years. It comes amid rising cyber threats, with defence officials reporting over 90,000 attacks by adversaries in the past two years—many linked to Russia and China. Corsham’s cyber teams recently thwarted malware targeting UK personnel returning from overseas deployments, tracing it to a “known Russian actor.”

A new Cyber and Electromagnetic Command will oversee offensive and defensive operations, including electronic warfare and drone-jamming capabilities. The investment is made possible by the government’s pledge to raise defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, with ambitions to reach 3% in the next parliament.

Yet NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has urged allies to exceed 3.5% spending, signalling ongoing pressure for greater military investment amid evolving global threats.

As warfare enters a new digital frontier, the UK’s strategy underscores a pivotal shift: in modern conflict, data may be as decisive as firepower