Cartlidge comes to Somerset to see Royal Navy helicopter AI support tool

Published by

Giles Gwinnett

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A new artificial intelligence (AI) tool called 'Motherlode' to support Royal Navy helicopters has been showcased at the Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton in Somerset and government minister James Cartlidge visited the base to witness its capability.

The AI software can rapidly processes aircraft maintenance data, ensuring engineering problems are detected (and thus solved) as earliest as possible.

Cartlidge's visit comes amid the UK government’s two-day AI summit at Bletchley Park.

He said: "By investing in the power of artificial intelligence, we are ensuring that our defensive assets are not only technologically superior, but also operate with precision, efficiency, and amplified safety.

"We should be proud to harness the UK’s exceptional AI talent and foster the collaboration between our brightest minds in technology and the future of defence capabilities."

Nicholas Almond, commanding officer at 1710 Naval Air Squadron, added: "This is just the beginning of the AI journey for the Fleet Air Arm.

"There are multiple use cases being explored, leveraging AI to enhance our data exploitation capabilities to maximise aircraft availability for frontline operations."

Motherlode's full capability will be rolled out by the end of 2023 across all Royal Navy helicopters, and the MoD said it was exploring its use on other defence equipment like land-based vehicles such as the 'Foxhound'.

The AI industry in the UK employs more than 50,000 people and contributes £3.7 billion to the economy, it added.

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Giles Gwinnett

Giles Gwinnett is a writer at The Business Magazine. He has been a journalist for more than 20 years and covered a vast array of topics at a range of media settings - in print and online. After his NCTJ newspaper training, he became a reporter in Hampshire before moving to a news agency in Gloucestershire. In recent years, he has been covering the financial markets along with company news for an investor-focused web portal. His many interests include politics, energy and the environment. He lives in Dorset.