The United Kingdom and Germany will jointly test, build and deploy military artificial intelligence across their armed forces, British Defence Secretary Wes Streeting announced in Berlin on Monday. The collaboration expands Cyber Lighthouse, an existing bilateral cybersecurity project established under a wider defence pact signed between the two nations in 2024.
Key points
- The UK and Germany will expand their Cyber Lighthouse cybersecurity initiative to co-develop defence artificial intelligence.
- Government officials and defence industry representatives will convene in spring 2027 to draft operational plans and system roadmaps.
- German defence companies have directed £800 million into British industry since 2024, including a facility in Plymouth for autonomous naval gliders.
- No specific programmes, hardware platforms or operational budgets have been allocated yet.
Expanding Cyber Lighthouse
Writing in the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung ahead of bilateral talks with German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, Streeting outlined plans to integrate software automation and intelligent data systems directly into both nations’ armed forces. The initiative broadens Cyber Lighthouse, a joint operational framework that previously concentrated on network defence and mutual cyber threat intelligence.
Addressing the strategic rationale for the agreement, Streeting wrote that shared development would protect both countries against emerging technological threats abroad. “Through joint testing, development and ultimately the introduction of AI in our armed forces, we will deepen our cooperation and keep pace with those who seek to harm us,” he said.
Government delegates and defence contractors from London and Berlin are scheduled to meet in spring 2027 to establish how the technical work will proceed. That session will define specific operational requirements, procurement models and the governance standards needed to run joint automated systems.
Private capital and defence manufacturing
The move follows substantial cross-border industrial investment triggered by the bilateral defence agreement signed in 2024. Streeting noted that German firms have committed £800 million, or roughly €956 million, to the British defence sector since the treaty took effect.
A notable participant in that investment wave is Munich-headquartered defence software firm Helsing. The company opened a production facility in Plymouth last year to manufacture autonomous, AI-driven underwater gliders built to detect and monitor hostile submarines across allied waters.
Helsing’s maritime project demonstrates how autonomous software is moving from experimental testing into operational production lines. Software platforms that process sensory feeds and track acoustic signatures underwater are becoming central to naval surveillance, reducing the need for constant crewed reconnaissance.
International scrutiny over autonomous arms
The bilateral agreement arrives during growing international debate over algorithmic targeting, autonomous decision-making and software governance on modern battlefields. As armed forces modernise their command architectures, international observers have raised concerns about machine autonomy and escalation risks.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has cautioned that an arms race in autonomous weapons is already under way. The humanitarian organisation has repeatedly called on governments to establish legally binding rules governing the limits of autonomous weapon systems, particularly around human oversight in targeting decisions.
Neither London nor Berlin has confirmed whether the systems under the Cyber Lighthouse expansion will focus on logistical decision-support, predictive maintenance, automated intelligence analysis or direct weapons guidance. The spring 2027 summit is expected to produce the first detailed technical outline for the partnership.
