- New Army technology to improve the accuracy of targeting
enemies and reduce decision-making time for strikes.
- Project ASGARD showcased this week to international allies
and industry partners, helping deliver on 10-times lethality
boost through the Strategic Defence Review.
- Capability deployed on to the frontline at rapid speed,
taking part in a NATO exercise just months after contract
award.
A pioneering digital targeting web, called ASGARD, has been
showcased this week, following successful trials by British
soldiers deployed on NATO's eastern flank. The project will
enable soldiers to rapidly find and strike enemy targets at
greater distances than ever before.
Following the Strategic Defence Review, the Army will deliver a
tenfold increase in lethality over the next ten years by
harnessing firepower, surveillance technology, autonomy, digital
connectivity, and data - leading the way in NATO in its use of
technology to change how it fights, improving speed and accuracy.
ASGARD will exploit AI and novel communications networks,
providing rapid targeting and decision-support to personnel.
The Ministry of Defence is committing funding for the next phase
of ASGARD's development. This will allow the Army to expedite its
lethality and deepen its links with society through partnership
with British industry, delivering on the Government's Plan for
Change by keeping the UK secure at home and strong abroad.
Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry, Rt Hon MP said:
“We are learning the lessons from Ukraine so our frontline
personnel can strike further and faster and maintain advantage
over our adversaries.
“ASGARD exemplifies the vision of the Strategic Defence Review,
with speed and world-class capability achieved by bringing
together military, Government and industry professionals with a
focus on rapid frontline delivery.”
ASGARD forms part of the work to create a wider digital targeting
web across the UK's Armed Forces by 2027, backed by more than £1
billion in funding. It will better connect military weapons
systems and allow battlefield decisions for targeting enemy
threats to be made and executed faster.
ASGARD was showcased this week to international allies and
industry partners in London, with participants shown the
capability in action, including its overwhelming effect on
adversaries.
Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Roly Walker said:
"Project ASGARD proves we can do things differently. It's not
just a pathfinder for transformation; it's a transformation in
how we find, fund, and fight with cutting-edge
capabilities.
“ASGARD helps double our lethality and exponentially reduces the
time to see, decide, and strike. What took hours, now takes
minutes. Today, the UK possesses a similar Recce-Strike system to
the one used by Ukraine to maul Russian forces in the Donbas.
That system now sits at the heart of our Forward Land Forces in
Estonia.
“We are particularly proud of the collaboration between
tacticians and technicians, between Defence and Industry, and the
support of and to small and medium enterprises and jobs across
the UK.”
Using a novel acquisition approach, ASGARD was first announced by
the Defence Secretary in October 2024 and progressed at an
unprecedented pace, with contracts awarded in January 2025 and a
prototype capability deployed only four months later for NATO
Exercise Hedgehog in Estonia. ASGARD's capabilities were
successfully tested, increasing the UK and NATO Armies' lethality
by improving targeting precision and significantly cutting
decision-making time.
This quick turn-around was achieved through a collaboration
between industry technicians and military tradecraft experts,
bringing together a consortium of military, civil service and
industry partners to deliver the best possible product in the
shortest amount of time.
The Strategic Defence Review recommended a shift towards greater
use of autonomy and Artificial Intelligence within the UK's
conventional forces, facilitated by a Digital Targeting Web. The
next phase of ASGARD will deliver on this, focusing on enhancing
the lethality at the Corps and Divisional levels as the Army's
contribution to the Defence Targeting Web. It will exploit the
Digital Decision Accelerators from the Defence Commercial
framework to harness the talents across a broader array of
industry partners to improve core capability.
ENDS
Notes to
editors:
UK Military
Representative to NATO, Lt Gen Sir Ian Cave,
said:
“Using AI to secure military
advantage, ASGARD shows the UK leading NATO to become a stronger,
smarter, more lethal Alliance. This innovation represents a step
change in capability for NATO's UK-led Forward Land Forces in
Estonia, hardening the eastern flank to keep 1 billion people
safe across the Alliance.”
Maj Gen Sirel (Estonia)
about ASGARD on Exercise Hedgehog:
“I was really impressed with
the speed of the delivery of the concept, because literally a
year ago that was just ideas.
“I saw how eager soldiers were
to learn the new equipment and how much the introduction of the
elements of the project ASGARD already have improved the
performance of the Brigade and contributed to the division being
more efficient and more lethal.”
