Applied Intuition UK leads UK defence programme to accelerate software-defined drone swarms

Applied Intuition UK has been appointed to spearhead a project to develop a software-centric autonomy test bed for drone swarms, aiming to enhance Britain’s defence capabilities through simulation-driven innovation and open architectures.

Applied Intuition UK has been chosen by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory to lead the initial phase of the Software Defined Swarms programme, a Ministry of Defence initiative to build a software-centred autonomy test bed for ground-launched, near-surface drone swarms, according to Defence Online and industry group communications.

The programme will be delivered through a prime-contractor model with Applied Intuition UK managing a consortium of industry and academic partners. Consortium members named by industry briefings include Rowden Technologies, SAIF Autonomy and Frazer-Nash Consultancy, with Evolve Dynamics supplying the WOLFE-NATO uncrewed aerial system as the primary hardware platform.

A central aim of the work is to align new swarming capabilities with the MOD’s Land Open Systems Architecture so that software-defined behaviours remain interoperable and upgradeable across the defence estate. The contract is explicitly framed to accelerate the British Army’s “20-40-40” priority by enabling faster iteration of autonomous behaviours in high-fidelity simulation environments before proceeding to live flight trials.

The programme places heavy emphasis on a simulation-first approach and digital-twin methods to reduce development bottlenecks and shorten the path from concept to operational demonstration. Industry notes that this shift to software-led development and open architectures creates pathways for UK small and medium-sized enterprises to integrate modular components, sensor suites and data-driven services into sovereign autonomy capabilities.

Applied Intuition’s UK expansion, which followed the company’s London office opening and announced foreign direct investment, underpins its role in the project and the government’s broader intent to cultivate domestic software expertise in autonomy. Applied Intuition’s recent work delivering synthetic data and autonomy tools for allied defence customers illustrates how its simulation and data capabilities are already being applied to operational problems across air and maritime domains.

As the programme moves from simulation to live trials, participants expect growing demand for sensor integration, secure communications and advanced analytics to support collaborative autonomy in contested environments. Industry observers say the initiative will be a bellwether for how the MOD procures and fields modular autonomous systems in the years ahead.

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Source: Fuse Wire Services