The Royal Navy has agreed a multi-million pound deal with British firm Arondite to put its Cobalt AI software across UK Commando Force, tying the commandos’ sensors, drones and data into one fighting system to speed up decisions, according to the Ministry of Defence.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, the Chief of the Defence Staff, announced the partnership on board HMS Prince of Wales at the Atlantic Future Forum in Oslo.
The MoD says Cobalt, a mission orchestration system, will integrate all of UK Commando Force’s sensors, autonomous platforms and data feeds, help commandos make decisions much faster in complex and contested environments, and allow future hardware and AI capabilities to be deployed rapidly. It will also enable co-ordination between the commandos, other UK units and partner forces across the Joint Expeditionary Force, and UK Commando Force and Arondite will make the platform available to Norwegian units for joint testing during upcoming deployments under the JEF’s new Northern Navies Initiative.
Knighton said: “UK Commando Force is our foremost amphibious strike force, and it must be ready to fight and win in the most contested environments.
“Cobalt will give our commandos a decisive edge, bringing their sensors, autonomous platforms and data together so that they can make decisions faster than any adversary.”
Luke Pollard, Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, said: “British defence tech is in demand. Arondite’s work with the Royal Navy will put cutting-edge software in the hands of our commandos, and their expansion into Norway shows the appetite for British technology among our closest allies.
“This is a statement of intent from a British scale-up whose work with UK defence will see its workforce double to 150 employees between now and next summer. That means highly skilled, well-paid jobs here in the UK, and a sharper edge for our forces and allies in the High North.
“The UK and Norway stand shoulder to shoulder on NATO’s northern flank, and this expansion will only strengthen that collective security.”
The deal comes as UK Commando Force receives a £100 million uplift in capability investment through the Defence Investment Plan to develop warfighting capabilities for special maritime and amphibious operations across the High North as part of the JEF.
The force comprises nine units, including 40, 42, 43, 45, 47 and 48 Commando, 29 Commando Royal Artillery, 24 Commando Royal Engineers and 30 Commando IX Group.
Vice Admiral Rune Andersen, chief of the Norwegian Joint Headquarters, told the forum on Wednesday that the Royal Marines had reshaped their training and plans to prioritise the High North, and British troops have previously put artificial intelligence to the test on exercise.
