UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pose for photographs after their defence deal on Monday. Photo / Getty Images
Ukraine has handed Britain a “goldmine” of secret battlefield intelligence to help it prepare for any conflict with Russia – in exchange for blueprints for Britian’s Storm Shadow missiles.
The intelligence contains millions of images of Russian tanks, air defences, troops, drones and artillery systems.
The data, which will train
AI used by Britain’s Armed Forces, has been collected from thousands of cameras and infrared sensors across the battlefield in Ukraine.
It will enable Britain to identify and respond to threats, such as Russian drones, more rapidly than ever before.
As part of the project, buried fibre-optic cables at United Kingdom bases will be turned into giant AI-enabled sensors.
The Ukrainian data will be used to train the AI sensors, which are designed to protect the bases from saboteurs and hostile actors trying to gather intelligence.
As well as military bases, the technology could be used to protect airports, prisons and even railways and energy plants in the future.
The technology could identify approaching soldiers, tanks and armoured vehicles through the unique sounds they make while moving.
The data could also aid AI in spotting specific types of drones and could alert troops more rapidly to an impending attack.
British defence firms and scientists will also gain access to the data, which will be used to build new AI-powered computer chips that will one day help power future smart drones and robots.
It is the first time Kyiv has opened up its vast “Avenger” labs repository of classified data to another country.
The deal was announced after British Prime Minister Andy Burnham agreed to hand over secret blueprints for Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine while in Kyiv on Monday local time.
The Prime Minister agreed to release classified information on British components in the missiles so that Kyiv can manufacture the long-range weapon for use in its war against Russia.
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, responded by accusing Britain of becoming more involved in the war in Ukraine.
