UK and Germany to jointly develop military AI in 2027

British Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the UK and Germany plan to test, develop and eventually deploy AI in their armed forces together, expanding the existing joint Cyber Lighthouse cybersecurity project to cover AI. Government and industry representatives from both countries are due to meet in spring 2027 to work out how the plan will be carried out, with no specific AI systems, programmes or budgets yet announced. Streeting said German companies had committed £800 million (about €956 million) to the UK defence industry since a 2024 defence pact, including Munich-based Helsing, which opened a Plymouth factory last year to build AI-powered underwater gliders to track hostile submarines.