The UK armed forces and Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) recently collaborated with the militaries of Australia and the US as part of the AUKUS partnership in a landmark trial focused on AI and autonomous systems. 

The trial, called Trusted Operation of Robotic Vehicles in Contested Environments (TORVICE), was held in Australia under the AUKUS partnership formed last year between the three countries. It aimed to test robotic vehicles and sensors in situations involving electronic attacks, GPS disruption, and other threats to evaluate the resilience of autonomous systems expected to play a major role in future military operations.

Understanding how to ensure these AI systems can operate reliably in the face of modern electronic warfare and cyber threats will be critical before the technology can be more widely adopted.  

The TORVICE trial featured US and British autonomous vehicles carrying out reconnaissance missions while Australia units simulated battlefield electronic attacks on their systems. Analysis of the performance data will help strengthen protections and safeguards needed to prevent system failures or disruptions.