Written question asked by Richard Holden (Conservative) on Monday, 15 June 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 17 June 2026. It was answered by Luke Pollard (Labour) on Wednesday, 24 June 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Defence: Artificial Intelligence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what investments the Defence Artificial Intelligence Centre has made in the development or use of digital testing and simulation environments to accelerate development timelines for the deployment of autonomous vehicles.

Answer: The Defence Artificial Intelligence Centre (DAIC) plays a central role in enabling and coordinating AI adoption across Defence. While digital testing and simulation environments are an important part of developing autonomous systems, including autonomous vehicles, these are typically delivered and funded by organisations such as the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and delivery teams within the National Armaments Director Group (NADG). DAIC supports this activity through the provision of frameworks, data and expertise, but investment decisions for specific testing and simulation environments sit with the relevant delivery organisations.

Secondary information