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60,000 soldiers a year will be trained using AI and analytics
to build a more lethal, combat ready British Army.
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Contract supports around 400 jobs across the
UK including the creation of 270 highly skilled roles
through 15-year £2 billion contract with a consortium of five
UK-based companies.
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The new system helps deliver on the ambition to increase
Armed Forces' readiness, and progress transformation, backed
by £298 billioninvestment through the Defence Investment Plan
over four years.
UK soldiers will be better prepared for modern warfare with a new
training system that uses AI, advanced analytics and virtual
environments to ready troops for rapidly evolving
battlefields.
Awarded to Omnia Training a Raytheon UK-led consortium, involving
five UK-based companies, with 44 businesses in the supply chain
the £2 billion contract will support around 400 jobs across the
UK over the next 15 years, including the creation of 270 skilled
roles.100 apprenticeships will also be developed, creating routes
into skilled defence jobs for young people, with separate
opportunities for veterans.
The Army's Collective Training Service (ACTS) is part of the
Army's Collective Training Transformation Programme (CTTP). This
new system will bring together innovative technology to help the
British Army prepare for future missions, modernising how
soldiers train.
Defence Secretary MBE MP said:
Our soldiers serve our nation with courage and exceptional
dedication. I am absolutely determined they get the quality
training they need to keep us safe.
This programme shows how our investment in defence will create
good, skilled jobs in the UK, including up to 60,000 new
opportunities through our £298billioninvestment over the next
four years.
This contract is good news for our national security and for new
jobs in communities across the country.
At the heart of this is a new Combat Laboratory a digital
platform which uses AI, advanced analytics and virtual
environments to replicate the complexity of modern warfare.
Up to 60,000 soldiers a year will be trained using the platform,
which enables commanders and troops to train anywhere, anytime
building a force that is prepared to respond to emerging threats
on the battlefield, learning the lessons from Ukraine.
The Combat Laboratory will integrate simulation, live systems and
analytics to assess operations, spot patterns and monitor
performance using data and AI to support better decision-making.
It will improve warfighting readiness across all levels of
command, from teams of 100 soldiers to up to 50,000, helping to
make the British Army warfighting ready and strengthening support
for NATO and allies.
The contract will support jobs across Wiltshire and beyond, in
areasincluding software engineering, AI expertise, cloud
engineering and data analytics - demonstrating how defence
investment is creatinggrowth and employment in communities across
the UK.
100 apprenticeships will be developed in partnership with
Wiltshire College and the University of Staffordshire. These will
cover disciplines from data and modelling to project management,
opening long-term pathways into highly skilled defence careers
for young people. New roles will also be open to veterans, with
some positions requiring prior military experience and based in
Warminster a town with deep and longstanding military
connections.
Omnia Training is a consortium of five UK-based companies
Raytheon UK, Capita, Cervus, Rheinmetall UK and Skyral. It draws
on a supply chain of over 44 British businesses across Wiltshire,
Leicestershire, Hampshire and beyond. The investment flows
directly into British companies and British communities,
supporting both growing and well-established businesses.
Skyral's software and Cervus' platforms are sovereign,
UK-developed capabilities, backed by more than £2 million in
Government innovation funding including from the Defence and
Security Accelerator (DASA). Developed by growing British defence
businesses, these platforms have created highly skilled jobs and
a valuable military capability with the intellectual property
firmly under UK control.
Managing Director and Chief Executive of Raytheon UK
said:
Welaunched Omnia Training over three years ago to deliver
cutting-edge training systems to help the British Army
effectively prepare for operations.
Our UKbased team of innovators, engineers and experts will give
soldiers and commanders a new level of training realism and set
an example for effective collaboration between the Army and
industry.
The contract will help drive forward the ambition to make the
British Army ten times more lethal by 2035, backed by £298
billion investment through the Defence Investment Plan over the
next four years.
