UK defence and aerospace giant Leonardo has announced the first partnership under its newly launched SME Collaboration Partner Programme, teaming up with London-based Faculty AI to co-develop next-generation AI-powered defence technologies.
The initiative marks a strategic push by Leonardo to harness innovation from the UK’s SME sector, as the government moves to increase defence spending to 2.5 percent of GDP and encourages broader participation in national security innovation. This collaboration reflects broader trends across Europe, where large defence primes are increasingly turning to nimble, specialist tech firms to inject speed and flexibility into R&D pipelines.
The Faculty partnership will focus initially on Cognitive Intelligent Sensing (CoInS) and Electronic Warfare (EW) technologies. These systems use AI and machine learning to process real-time data, with applications ranging from sensor autonomy to combat aircraft countermeasures.
“Our goal is to move beyond a transactional prime-supplier relationship,” said Professor Simon Harwood, Capability Director at Leonardo UK. “We’ll be looking for opportunities where Leonardo’s expertise in defence electronics sensors and integration, military rotorcraft and cyber security can incorporate the AI expertise of Faculty to deliver something of tangible benefit to our customers.”
Faculty AI, one of the UK’s most prominent independent AI companies, will bring its experience in deploying AI for operational optimisation and real-world decision-making. The firm has previously worked with the NHS and UK government departments, and its AI models are already in use in highly regulated and sensitive environments.
“We’ve used AI to solve frontline problems for a decade and are world-leading experts in this field,” said Marc Warner, CEO of Faculty AI. “AI is already reshaping defence – enabling faster, more accurate decision-making, improved threat detection and greater operational efficiency. This collaboration underscores our mission to deliver AI to enhance national security while ensuring it is deployed safely and ethically.”
Joint product development is expected to result in AI-enhanced ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) tools and battlefield technologies like sensor-autonomous targeting and improved countermeasure systems. Leonardo already markets the BriteCloud decoy and BriteStorm jammer globally and sees Faculty’s AI capabilities as a way to further boost these platforms.
Alongside external product development, Leonardo will integrate Faculty’s AI tools into its own UK operations across nine sites. The goal: use AI to streamline manufacturing, increase production agility, and enhance internal decision-making processes.
Leonardo also plans to sponsor Faculty Fellowships, which will place graduating PhD and MSc students in short-term AI-driven industry projects within the company. These fellowships are aimed at nurturing domestic talent and embedding next-gen tech skills into the UK’s defence base.
The partnership comes at a time of renewed government emphasis on sovereign capability and resilient supply chains, particularly in defence and critical national infrastructure. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and the Ministry of Defence have repeatedly highlighted the need for UK SMEs to play a greater role in delivering both innovation and economic resilience.
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