The platform will help the military predict stock shortages and keep on top of maintenance projects.  

Tech firm IBM will develop a new GBP320 million platform to help the UK military manage and maintain its equipment, a 2 October UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) announcement has revealed. 

Originally launched as a tender in 2022 and dubbed Defence Equipment Engineering Asset Management Systems (DEEAMS), this platform will utilise AI to ensure the UK military has “the right equipment in the right place at the right time”, the MoD said. 

Specifically, DEEAMS will provide military personnel with real-time data to predict maintenance and repair requirements, stock availability, and engineering planning across equipment and platforms. 

The system will replace the 17 existing applications that currently do this job which the MoD says are “fragmented, siloed, and outdated”, bringing cost savings on support and IT.  

DEEAMS will support over 65,000 users across over 130 military platforms and assets, the MoD said. 

“This is a major step forward in our commitment to ensuring our military has the very best equipment support available. We are revolutionising how we provide our frontline personnel with the kit they need, when they need it, whether they’re operating at home or deployed overseas”, UK Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, Luke Pollard, said. 

The MoD also noted that DEEAMS will help deliver on the ambitions of the UK’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR), unveiled earlier this year in June. AI was listed as a priority in the SDR, particularly as part of the digital targeting web which the UK MoD is planning on funnelling GBP1 billion into over the next few years.  

Similarly, the MoD said DEEAMS will helps support the UK’s engine for growth initiative, first unveiled in May in an effort to stimulate economic growth through the UK defence industry.