Welcoming the UK Integrated Review’s call for investment in UK science such as AI and synthetic environments to counter the security threats of the future

Science and technology set to play a major role in defence according to the UK government’s Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy announced today.

Today we have had the opportunity to read about, and to add our support to, the UK Government’s Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy. In its findings, the report calls for a greater use of new technologies such as synthetic environments (“synthetics”) - detailed, highly realistic representations of the real world integrating data, artificial intelligence and machine learning - across all defence operating environments, readying the armed forces for future threats to national security.

The Integrated Review has clearly outlined how important investment in British science and technology providers will be. Through continued investment in homegrown capabilities where the UK already has a leading edge - such as synthetic environments - the UK will position itself to achieve prosperity and security.

Key Findings of the UK Government’s Integrated Review 2021

The findings of the Integrated Review identify technology such as synthetic environments, along with artificial intelligence, as essential for managing training and planning simulations across all domains in a way that is not possible using traditional live, virtual or combined training technologies. Synthetic environments, augmented with artificial intelligence, will make training, planning and decision making faster and more relevant than ever before.

In an era of persistent competition with global adversaries, a new approach is required for rapidly evolving battlespaces. A successful response requires an integrated multi-domain response - not only integrated across the familiar and new domains - land, sea, air, cyber, and space, but also integrated across the nation’s defence and national security community, and across international partnerships.

Enabling the Most Realistic and Sophisticated Simulations Ever Experienced

Successful national defence in an age of complex, multi-domain warfare requires not just integration between forces and technology, but an ‘allied by design’ model where interoperability increases every friendly nation’s resistance to threats. A successful military will also need to align its goals and objectives with government, the private sector and society as a whole.

This aligns with the mission of Improbable’s defence business - to enable the most realistic and sophisticated simulations ever experienced. Synthetic environment technology will ultimately allow the UK to stay ahead of its global adversaries and transform defence planning, training and decision-making for the increasing scale and complexity of modern threats and challenges - from emerging threats from cyber warfare to dealing with responses to pandemics, climate crises or other national and global situations.

Greater use of synthetic environments will help armed forces to adapt to this increasingly complex threat landscape. They allow security services to plan for unexpected circumstances and “what if” scenarios, all while cutting costs and delivering better value for the taxpayer.

Improbable’s synthetic environment platform combines scientific modelling, advanced AI and data analytics with a flexible and secure deployment model, creating a powerful synthetic simulation platform tailored to the needs of the defence community.

How We’re Tackling Key Challenges Raised in the Integrated Defence Review Today

We’re working with the Ministry of Defence and the broader national security community in the UK to improve training, planning and decision making, and recently contributed our services to fighting the pandemic, collaborating with a number of leading modelling experts to rapidly accelerate existing best-in-class COVID simulations by a factor of 10,000.

Today’s Integrated Review made clear the importance of developing and investing in British technology providers. We look forward to working with the UK and its NATO allies on innovative solutions to security threats, all while creating highly skilled British jobs and helping to build a partner ecosystem of established and new technology providers.

The UK has long been a key ally in the international community’s efforts to maintain global peace and security. Today, maintaining that position and protecting the UK’s interests means investing in cutting-edge capabilities including synthetic environments that can counter the multi-domain, sub-threshold threats of increasingly sophisticated and dangerous global adversaries

For more information on Improbable's defence business and our technology for synthetic environments, contact press@improbable.io or visit our Contact us page.