Ukraine to share drone AI battlefield data with Britain

Ukraine will give Britain access to an AI dataset containing millions of battlefield images under a deal signed in Kyiv on Monday by British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the UK government said.

The dataset, known as Avengers, is used to train autonomous Ukrainian drones. London said the data could help protect military bases and other sites.

The British government described the dataset as a “goldmine” and said it could eventually be used to protect airports, prisons, railways and energy plants, without giving further details.

In return, Ukraine will receive expertise from British researchers and universities. Burnham said the partnership would combine Ukraine's operational experience with Britain's AI sector and help protect critical infrastructure.

Ukrainian battlefield data from Avengers will soon be tested at a UK defence site to “protect bases from protestors and hostile actors trying to gain intelligence”, the British government said.

The deal came hours after London granted Kyiv blueprints to manufacture Storm Shadow missiles, long-range weapons capable of hitting targets about 250 kilometres, or around 150 miles, away. The missiles, jointly developed with France, which calls them SCALPs, have been supplied to Ukraine since 2023.

Britain is one of Ukraine's key backers and has supported it financially and militarily during the four-and-a-half-year Russian offensive.