The UK Ministry of Defence has entered a major collaboration with Red Hat to modernise its digital infrastructure and accelerate the deployment of artificial intelligence. By establishing a unified hybrid cloud backbone, the Ministry of Defence aims to break down data silos and ensure that advanced technologies can be used effectively from central data centres to the tactical edge in the field.
This new enterprise agreement focuses on the Defence Digital Foundry, which serves as the central software delivery hub for the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force. The initiative moves the military away from fragmented, project-specific pilots toward a more industrialised approach to technology. This shift allows the Ministry of Defence to develop AI models once and deploy them across various environments, including on-premise hardware, public clouds, or disconnected devices used by personnel in the field.
Unifying AI Capabilities Across the Armed Forces
A primary goal of the partnership is to enable AI at scale by providing a consistent environment for developers and data scientists. The Ministry of Defence is adopting Red Hat AI and OpenShift AI to bridge the gap between initial data science research and operational use. This platform allows different service branches to collaborate on a single system, choosing the best AI models and hardware for their specific missions without being restricted to a single vendor.
The standardisation effort is expected to reduce duplication across large government IT programs. By using a common platform, the Ministry of Defence can ensure that AI models run efficiently even on the restricted hardware footprints often found in military environments. This capability is critical for maintaining a strategic advantage, as it allows for the rapid adoption and replication of successful digital practices across the entire organisation.
Modernising Legacy Systems and Enhancing Security
The agreement also addresses the challenge of managing older systems alongside new technology. Using Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization, the Ministry of Defence can manage traditional virtual machines and modern containerised AI applications on the same control plane. This approach provides a clear path for migrating legacy workloads while reducing operational complexity and potential costs.
Security remains a top priority for national critical infrastructure. The new digital backbone integrates security directly into the software supply chain, allowing for a consistent security footprint across all services. This framework ensures that any code or tools provided by approved third-party partners align with the Ministry of Defence’s rigorous security standards, helping to mitigate cyber threats more effectively.
Driving Efficiency Through Enterprise Automation
To further streamline operations, the Ministry of Defence is implementing the Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform. This tool will be used to automate manual tasks and ensure compliance across IT operations, configuration management, and service provisioning. Moving beyond previous fragmented efforts, this enterprise-wide automation helps the department maintain strict governance as AI models are retrained and redeployed.
The collaboration is supported by Computacenter, which is assisting with the onboarding of various Red Hat technologies. Ministry of Defence personnel will also have access to technical experts and hands-on training to help them adopt these new tools more quickly. This comprehensive approach to digital delivery is designed to keep the UK Ministry of Defence agile, innovative, and resilient in an increasingly digital era.
