Frazer-Nash Consultancy at the Heart of the UK’s Largest Multi-Domain AI Defence Trial

Picture this: Portland Harbour, a normally quiet coastal area of Dorset, awash with warships, main battle tanks, and a Chinook conducting a military exercise to collect essential data for automatic target detection and recognition systems.

That was the scene during one week in March, in a comprehensive trial known as WINTERMUTE 3. Coordinated by Frazer-Nash Consultancy, this was the latest in a series of three trials conducted by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl).

The aim of WINTERMUTE 3 was to better understand various targets to advance surveillance technologies, including Automatic Target Recognition (ATR), by collecting the right data with the appropriate meta-data sets. With advances in Machine Learning (ML) expected to revolutionise ATR performance in complex systems, the exercise sought to explore how this form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) could be improved across multiple domains and platforms.

Mass data was gathered through synchronised formations and attack profiles by different military units in numerous scenarios. The multispectral footage, along with relevant meta-data and contextual information developed during the exercise, will now be exploited to advance software development across defence.

Leading the Way as a Trusted Partner

The organisation of this large-scale exercise involved over 15 suppliers and management of multiple terabytes of data. Taking less than five months to plan and implement, the task’s ultimate aim was to ensure the collected data had high exploitation value for Dstl and could help inform the future development of defence technology.

Having previously supported Dstl with their two earlier WINTERMUTE trials, Frazer-Nash Consultancy took the lead role in bringing partners and assets together for this week-long trial. The organisation also utilised its expertise in defence research and development, with its own Unmanned Air Systems team involved in gathering data to inform algorithm and systems development.

James Brodier, WINTERMUTE Business Manager at Frazer-Nash Consultancy, noted:
“The WINTERMUTE 3 trials are the epitome of an enterprise approach to data gathering. With targets available across land, air and sea, coordination was ambitious and challenging, but the collective effort means Dstl and the wider industry now have meaningful data to advance their work. Frazer-Nash Consultancy is proud to have been at the centre of this important exercise that is valuable for both the UK and its allies.”