Launching the AI Model Arena
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-10)

The Defence AI Centre has worked with industry to develop a new tool that will help redefine how Defence evaluates and procures AI technologies.

The Defence AI Centre (DAIC) is launching the AI Model Arena to help redefine how Defence evaluates and procures artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

The tool, developed in partnership with UK AI company Advai and the National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF), will pilot a secure, standardised platform for suppliers to more rapidly test and demonstrate their models against Defence use cases.

The AI Model Arena will:
- help UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) identify the best AI solutions and provide an objective ‘demonstration by doing’ mechanism for triaging into the Defence Tech Scaler and innovation pathways
- enable more dynamic supplier interactions, significantly reducing timelines by assessing up to 100 models simultaneously and providing constructive feedback to suppliers, helping them to iterate their solutions
- communicate priority Defence use cases and initial key requirements, ahead of the more comprehensive testing associated with pre-deployment stages, for any solutions that are triaged
The AI Model Arena will be a secure, vendor-neutral evaluation platform that can objectively assess models across 4 critical categories: performance, reliability, robustness, and security. These data-backed evaluations will be based on Defence-specific requirements such as JSP 936 (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jsp-936-dependable-artificial-intelligence-ai-in-defence-part-1-directive). Up to 100 suppliers can be phased through a down-selection process, ensuring the best-in-class solutions progress.

The AI Model Arena builds on work previously undertaken by the Royal Navy in partnership with Advai and the Accelerated Capability Environment (ACE), a Home Office unit solving public sector data challenges, where MOD first conducted independent side-by-side testing of AI models from multiple suppliers. This approach supports more confident procurement decisions while mitigating risks and ensuring performance, robustness, and security in mission-specific scenarios. It will also help with earlier identification of the most promising models and suppliers, reducing procurement bottlenecks, accelerating innovation, and ensuring the most promising AI solutions are triaged for procurement teams to investigate further.

Head of DAIC, Commodore Rachel Singleton said:

This initiative is central to our ambition to adopt AI responsibly and at pace, ensuring we maintain a strategic advantage in an increasingly competitive landscape. I encourage all AI suppliers to engage with the AI Model Arena. This is your opportunity to showcase your capabilities, drive innovation, and help shape the future of Defence AI.

The AI Model Arena pilot provides a scalable solution to procurement challenges, improving performance, boosting confidence, and delivering cutting-edge AI capabilities to our warfighters in a much shorter timeframe. Falling in line with the ambitions outlined in Action 43 of the AI Opportunities Plan (2025) (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ai-opportunities-action-plan), the tool can automate the evaluation of AI models against Defence benchmarks. This approach will ultimately deliver the same insight as more intensive review techniques, but with significantly shorter timelines.

The AI Model Arena will speed up the rate of AI adoption, in support of matching the demand outlined in the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-strategic-defence-review-2025-making-britain-safer-secure-at-home-strong-abroad). Its vendor-neutral processes support a level playing field for industry and enables the growth of UK small and medium-sized enterprises by identifying where they have an edge, helping advance a stronger sovereign AI ecosystem.

Achieving these strategic ambitions will result in the efficient procurement of secure, compliant and operationally ready AI systems for Defence.

By streamlining how we evaluate and procure AI technologies, the AI Model Arena will help to reduce barriers to innovation, strengthen our defence industrial partnerships, and ensure our warfighters have access to the most advanced AI solutions to operate, deter, fight and win. The AI Model Arena directly supports the SDR’s recommendation to harness cutting-edge technology and innovation to maintain the UK Defence’s strategic advantage. As part of MOD’s Digital Function, the DAIC enables and accelerates AI across Defence. The Digital Function is part of the newly formed National Armaments Director Group, which brings together acquisition, science, innovation and support functions under unified leadership to deliver capabilities faster and more efficiently for our Armed Forces.

The Defence AI Centre are aiming for the Model Arena to be live by DAIC Connect 2026 (https://www.chiefdisruptor.com/daic-connect-2026) being held in March next year.

Find out more about the Defence AI Centre (https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/defence-artificial-intelligence-centre) and stay up to date by following the DAIC on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/defence-artificial-intelligence-centre-daic-ai/).