Written question asked by James McMurdock (Independent (affiliation)) on Tuesday, 23 June 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 25 June 2026. It was answered by Luke Pollard (Labour) on Friday, 3 July 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Uncrewed Systems: Testing

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Europe's largest drone testing centre opens in Swindon to boost defence innovation, published on 12 June 2026, what the potential military applications are of artificial intelligence-enabled autonomous systems being developed at the facility.

Answer

The Prime Minister announced on 30 June, through the Defence Investment Plan, that the Government is committed to spending more than £5 billion to fund a drone transformation over the next four years. As part of this, £650 million will deliver inexpensive expendable autonomous systems including drones and uncrewed ground vehicles to rapidly enhance the lethality of the Army, Commando Force and Special Forces.

It will also fund Europe’s biggest drone testing centre, the Uncrewed Systems Centre, opened earlier this month in Swindon, and a new Uncrewed Systems Taskforce to rapidly develop and field new autonomous capabilities with industry. This will ensure the UK can continuously scale production and get the very latest drones into the hands of our Armed Forces to protect the UK and our Allies.

The Uncrewed Systems Centre will develop the latest drone technology in conjunction with the Front-Line Commands. The precise military applications of any artificial intelligence-enabled autonomous system that may be developed will depend upon validated user requirements.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 12344
Session: 2026-27
Subjects: Testing Artificial intelligence Uncrewed systems
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk

Uncrewed Systems: Testing

Secondary information

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