UK backs autonomous weapons in 15 billion pound defence plan
Britain's government unveiled a fifteen billion pound Defence Investment Plan, with five billion earmarked for drones and autonomous weapons over four years. For the first time, official documents confirm some systems will make targeting decisions on their own, within parameters
Prime Minister Keir Starmer unveiled the UK's largest defence investment plan in a generation: an extra fifteen billion pounds over four years, including a record five billion for drones and autonomous weapons. Government documents confirm, for the first time, that some systems will be able to make targeting decisions without a human approving each individual strike, within parameters set by a commander, an approach described as command rather than control. One example is Project NYX, autonomous army drones designed to work alongside Apache helicopters. The plan also funds a hybrid Royal Navy of crewed frigates operating beside uncrewed surface and underwater vessels, plus autonomous wingmen for the Royal Air Force. The uplift falls short of the twenty eight billion pounds defence chiefs sought, and takes UK defence spending toward 4.2 percent of GDP under NATO's target. Sources: Defense News (Reuters), Bloomberg, IBTimes UK.