The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) should embrace artificial intelligence (AI) to maintain its military advantages, which will require nurturing the countrys private AI defence sector and ensuring there is interoperability with the systems used by its allies, the Commons Defence Committee has said.In December 2023, the committee launched an inquiry examining how the MoD could meet the aim of strengthening the UKs defence and security AI ecosystem, as set out in the 2022 Defence AI Strategy.Highlighting the use of AI in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict including for the purposes of analysing battlefield data and intelligence, combatting disinformation, drone piloting and targeting identification the committee said that while the technology can offer serious military advantages, there is a mismatch between rhetoric and reality on the UKs AI capabilities.According to a report published by the committee on 10 January 2025, while the UK has natural strengths that could allow it to develop first-class specialisms in defence AI, the sector is under-developed and needs further cultivating.Developing a thriving defence AI sector will require improvements in digital infrastructure, data management and the AI skills base, and we urge the MoD to identify where gaps exist so that work can begin to address these issues, it said.We suggest some specific actions it can take, such as making AI a greater part of military education and making it easier for AI specialists to move between the civilian and defence sectors. MoD is also likely to need to work with smaller and non-traditional defence suppliers who currently face barriers to working with defence, and the department needs to adopt its ways of working to make itself a more appealing and effective partner for the sector.It needs to become more comfortable with risk-taking, rapid development cycles and working with non-traditional defence suppliers, it added.It also noted that military AI systems will be most effective if they are interoperable with those of the UKs allies, including Nato and the Aukus partnership with Australia and the US.It therefore calls for dialogue with allies over shared approaches to data collection, labelling and the ethical use of autonomous technologies, as well as joint working on skills and capacity building.Aside from further developing the UKs military AI sector and collaborating with allies, the committee said there also need to be cultural changes to the ways of working at the MoD.Harnessing AI for defence requires not just updated technology, but an updated approach, and in todays report, we call on the Ministry of Defence to transform itself into an AI-native organisation, fully integrating AI into its work and mindset, said sub-committee chair Emma Lewell-Buck.Our report finds that the UK is ripe with opportunity, and has the potential to become world-leading in defence AI, she said. But if we are to realise this potential, the Ministry of Defence must take a proactive approach and nurture the UKs industry. 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