The Integrated Review has set the British Army to spend £23-billion on their modernisation in the next four years. A part of this will go into the reorganisation of the British Army into seven Brigade Combat Teams (BCT).
The Defence Command Paper states "Across all parts of the Army, these new structures provide more operational resilience, integration, deployability and greater opportunity for our people.
Human-machine teaming will also play an increasingly prominent role in how the Army delivers effects.
With the new experimentation battalion, drawn from the Yorkshire Regiment, will lead in the trialling of cutting-edge technology and its integration into the way we fight; testing the BCTs to their limits, driving innovation and ensuring that the Army's structures, equipment and way of fighting evolve in line with the threats."
With heavy representation from the UK and a continued focus on the RAS priorities of situational awareness, lethality, manoeuvrability, survivability and sustainability, the Military Robotics and Autonomous Systems Conference, taking place on 6th and 7th April 2022 in London, UK, will include host nation briefings from the British Army, Royal Marines, DE&S, and DSTL, who will give insight on the UK's RAS modernisation plans.
For those interested in attending, there is a £200 early bird offer expiring on 28th February 2022. Register at http://www.robotics-autonomous.com/pr1
The host nation presentations include:
- Lieutenant Colonel Iain Lamont, SO1 Robotics and Autonomous Systems, British Army, will be presenting on "Establishing RAS Enabled Brigade Combat Teams (BCT) for the British Army".
- Lieutenant Colonel Ross Drinkwater, SO1 Autonomy, UK Commando Forces Acquisition, Royal Marines, will be presenting on "The Future Commando Force - Enhancing the Lethality, Situational Awareness and Mobility Capabilities of the Royal Marines with UGVs and UAS".
- Mr James Gavin, Head of Future Capability Group, DE&S, UK MoD, will be presenting on "Forming the Role of the Expeditionary Robotics Centre of Expertise (ERCoE) and Other RAS Projects from the Future Capability Group".
- Mr Peter Stockel, DSTL Fellow, Autonomous Systems & Innovation Autonomy Challenge Lead, DSTL, UK MoD, will be presenting on "Continuing the Drive for Autonomy Development and Human Machine Teaming at the DSTL".
- Mr Guy Powell, Principal Adviser — Mounted Systems and Principal Technical Authority — Project JTARR, Platforms Systems Division, DSTL, UK MoD, will be presenting on "Furthering the Military Capabilities of Autonomous Ground Vehicle Systems with DSTL's Autonomy and AI R&D Programs".
The full speaker line-up and agenda are available at: http://www.robotics-autonomous.com/pr1