Experiment, modernise, win

A green uncrewed vehicle sits in a woodblock.

Four years of experimentation by the British Army and industry partners have culminated in the last event of the Army Warfighting Experiment's Urban Series, designed to prepare the Army for future warfare in complex environments.

The Army Warfighting Experiment (AWE) has enhanced access to new technologies and spurred innovation since its inception in 2018. Specifically focused on low to medium Technology Readiness Levels (TRL), it allows the exploration of the possible and will help determine how the British Army wins wars in the future.

After months of planning, the fourth and final event in the Urban Series, Integrate 24, was designed to experiment with next generation systems and test their usefulness and capability against several tough criteria set by both military and non-military experts. 

It was undertaken with the support of more than 250 personnel from across defence, including the Field Army, Defence technology organisations, international allies, and industry partners.

Integrate 24 looked at managing networks and sharing data better, therefore enhancing decision making on the battlefield. It is vital that commanders on the ground get the right information at the right time to make the right decisions and Integrate 24 brought these novel technologies and networks to the forefront.

AWE is the British Army’s annual event to explore the future of warfare, both new ways of fighting and the technologies that enable it"

Colonel Wright, Assistant Head - Research and Experimentation, Army Futures

Colonel Timothy Wright, Assistant Head - Research and Experimentation, Army Futures, explained:

“AWE is the British Army’s annual event to explore the future of warfare, both new ways of fighting and the technologies that enable it.

“Integrate is much more focused on the impacts that software innovations can have on the battlefield, specifically how we can leverage software to support the unencumbered flow of data across the battlefield and enable increasingly complex data analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence for tactical advantage.” 

Integrate 24’s practical three-week exercise was held on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire and saw soldiers getting their hands on an array of complex specialised equipment ranging from tactical communications tools to Artificial Intelligence based counter-drone solutions. There was also more familiar remotely controlled engineering equipment.

One of the ways in which AWE contributes to the development of the future is it sets out an exercise and conditions in which we can test equipment and also test concepts in a collaborative approach"

Major Oliver McAfee, Co-ordinating Officer

Major Oliver McAfee, co-ordinating officer for the project said:

“One of the ways in which AWE contributes to the development of the future is it sets out an exercise and conditions in which we can test equipment and also test concepts in a collaborative approach.

“It brings in industry, we get equipment in the hands of the user, and it allows them to give instantaneous feedback to industry and can really accelerate the progress of the Army’s modernisation programme.”

As well as British soldiers, military personnel from several allied nations also took part in the experiment. Colonel Wright added:

“We get an incredible amount of benefit from our international partners on the exercise, as they bring different perspectives, experiences, and military cultures. It helps see our requirements in different ways and understand better how other nations are tackling similar problems.”

Was the experiment a success and what does that look like? 

Colonel Wright said: “Any time we get soldiers in the field with new technologies it’s a success. We’re currently analysing the data we collected throughout the year, and I’m excited to see the results.”

And the future?

“AWE will remain the Army’s primary warfighting experiment as we look to initiate a new series and take on a new problem set.”