British multinational BAE Systems has invested in U.K. startup Oxford Dynamics to advance their partnership on developing battlespace technologies for the air, land, sea, space and cyber domains.
BAE Systems said Friday that the collaboration will combine its defense and security expertise with Oxford Dynamics’ know-how in artificial intelligence and robotics.
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Digital Asset Management
The partnership’s initial phase involves integrating Oxford Dynamics’ AI technology into BAE Systems’ Prophesea digital platform, which is designed to maintain the operational readiness of vital defense assets such as warships, combat aircraft and armored vehicles. In the long term, the collaboration will combine Oxford Dynamics’ technologies with BAE’s other defense, aerospace and security platforms.
Through their joint efforts, the partner companies aim to deliver AI-enabled real-time capability to support rapid decision making and operational autonomy for U.K. and allied forces in contested environments.
Rapidly Evolving Warfare
Andrea Thompson, group managing director at BAE Systems’ digital intelligence business, noted the critical need for adopting advanced technology to keep the United Kingdom safe amid warfare’s rapid evolution. “By working with companies such as Oxford Dynamics, we can help ensure that the nation is ready to unlock the advantages that innovation brings and help strengthen the U.K.’s sovereign defense and security landscape,” she said.
Oxford Dynamics was established as a self-funded startup in 2020 at the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell, Oxfordshire. It will remain an independent entity, and BAE Systems’ equity stake will support Oxford Dynamics’ next growth phase.
Generative AI Technology
In September, the startup secured an Enterprise Agreement Lite contract with the U.K. Ministry of Defence worth up to $2.7 million for its generative AI technology for searching, examining and summarizing complex data.
BAE Systems is also collaborating with Mind Foundry, another Oxford-based AI company, on the latter’s AI-powered signal processing techniques for managing and analyzing sensor feeds.