The Ministry of Defence has signed a 15-year, £2 billion contract for a new AI and analytics-driven training system that will prepare up to 60,000 soldiers a year for modern battlefield conditions, supporting around 400 jobs across the UK.
The contract has been awarded to Omnia Training, a Raytheon UK-led consortium of five UK-based companies drawing on a supply chain of more than 44 British businesses across Wiltshire, Leicestershire, Hampshire and beyond. It will support around 400 jobs over 15 years, including 270 newly created skilled roles, alongside 100 apprenticeships developed in partnership with Wiltshire College and the University of Staffordshire, and further opportunities for veterans, with some roles based in Warminster.
At the heart of the programme is a new Combat Laboratory, a digital platform combining AI, advanced analytics and virtual environments to replicate the complexity of modern warfare. Part of the Army’s Collective Training Service within the wider Collective Training Transformation Programme, the system will let commanders and troops train anywhere, at any scale, from teams of 100 up to forces of 50,000, integrating simulation, live systems and analytics to assess operations and support better decision-making, drawing directly on lessons learned from Ukraine.
Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis MBE MP said the programme shows “how our investment in defence will create good, skilled jobs in the UK,” part of a wider £298 billion investment through the Defence Investment Plan over four years and the ambition to make the British Army ten times more lethal by 2035. James Gray, Managing Director and Chief Executive of Raytheon UK, said the consortium’s UK-based team of “innovators, engineers and experts” will give troops “a new level of training realism,” while setting an example for Army-industry collaboration. The contract also channels investment into sovereign UK capability, with Skyral’s software and Cervus’s platforms developed with more than £2 million in government innovation funding, including from the Defence and Security Accelerator, and their intellectual property remaining under UK control.
For the UK defence supply chain, this programme is a strong example of how a major prime-led contract can flow deep into the SME base, with 44 businesses already engaged and roles spanning software engineering, AI, cloud engineering and data analytics. It also signals sustained government appetite for sovereign, UK-owned training and simulation IP rather than imported systems.
Businesses with relevant capabilities should monitor the following areas as the Combat Laboratory programme develops:
- AI, machine learning and advanced analytics for training and simulation
- Virtual and synthetic training environments
- Cloud engineering and secure data infrastructure
- Software development for defence training platforms
- Data modelling and performance analytics
- Apprenticeship and skills pathway development in defence technology
Image: Raytheon
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Post written by: Vicky Maggiani
Vicky has worked in media for over 25 years and has a wealth of experience in editing and creating copy for a variety of sectors.
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