The platform contains more than five million annotated frames and sensor information from over six million object detections. The imagery and video were collected by Ukrainian uncrewed aerial systems using daylight and thermal sensors, with most of the material supplied through the DELTA combat-management system.
Companies will not receive or download the underlying dataset. Their AI models will be trained and evaluated within the secure Avengers Labs environment after Ukraine completes export-control procedures.
The data covers tanks, artillery, air-defence systems, infantry and aerial threats, including Shahed-type drones and reconnaissance UAVs. It is anonymised, delayed and continuously updated to protect troops while retaining its operational relevance.
The programme is initially focused on AI models that allow unmanned systems to coordinate, identify threats and adapt their behaviour with appropriate human involvement. The systems could fly, swim or drive while operating in environments where communications are degraded or satellite navigation is unavailable.
For British forces, a small number of sailors, soldiers or aircrew could direct large groups of drones. Potential missions include logistics resupply, precision targeting and submarine hunting in the North Atlantic.
The competition covers autonomous target recognition, distributed decision-making and adaptive mission execution under constrained communications. It also seeks methods for sharing and combining information across multiple platforms and sensors.
The UK Ministry of Defence’s Rapid AI Delivery Task Force will select companies whose proposals meet British and Ukrainian requirements. The process is expected to take several weeks, with access beginning shortly after the companies are chosen and export controls are completed.
The initiative follows an artificial intelligence agreement signed in Kyiv by Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It forms part of the UK-Ukraine 100 Year Partnership and is intended to support Ukraine’s defence while expanding British sovereign capability.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the programme would connect British industry with operational data that private companies could not readily collect themselves. “This world-first access to real battlefield data will allow British companies to continue pushing the frontier of defence innovation, deterring our enemies and making us safer at home as well as further strengthening Ukraine.”
“This is the Prime Minister’s AI Taskforce delivering: bringing together Ukraine’s hard-won battlefield experience with Britain’s best AI companies to develop and deploy capabilities faster,” AI Minister Kanishka Narayan said. “It is exactly the kind of practical partnership the Taskforce was set up to drive, supporting our ally Ukraine while strengthening sovereign capability here in Britain.”
The programme also supports the government’s aim to strengthen national security and expand advanced manufacturing in the UK. It comes alongside a new UK-US AI and Autonomy partnership intended to protect infrastructure ranging from sea lanes to national airspace.
More than 30 Ukrainian defence companies already use Avengers Labs to train AI models, with three resulting products operating on the battlefield. Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said AI has reduced the time Defence Forces of Ukraine analysts spend searching images and video for enemy targets by up to 90%.
