Asgard’s development comes as the UK MoD pursues a 10-fold increase in lethality by 2035. 

The UK trialled its prototype ‘Asgard’ digital targeting web in Estonia during NATO Exercise Hedgehog in May, a UK Government press release has revealed.  

Asgard aims to deliver improved targeting accuracy, recommend available effectors, and reduce decision-making times for strikes, according to the announcement on 20 July. 

It follows a request for information (RFI) published in October 2024, where the Ministry of Defence (MoD) called for a solution that would set “the conditions for the unfair fight”.  

Alongside the RFI, the MoD hosted in-person and virtual consultations to see how industry partners can improve effector integration, accelerate decision-making speeds, and enhance command, control, communications and computing (C4) capabilities. 

The MoD awarded contracts to suppliers in January 2025, with a prototype capability demonstrated four months later during exercise Hedgehog in Estonia, the statement notes. 

A British Army spokesperson told DSEI Gateway that they are unable to release the names of the companies who won the contracts “due to commercial sensitivities”. 

Collaboration between industry partners, civil servants, military personnel, and technicians helped drive the rapid turnaround.  

Over 3,000 British troops participated in Hedgehog, alongside 11 other nations, with Estonian and French forces also utilising the Asgard network. 

“The rollout of the first elements of Asgard for our NATO Forward Land Forces Brigade, 4th Light Brigade Combat Team, was a step-change in capability; they could act 10 times faster and further than they could 12 months ago. This applied to all troops in the formation, including our French and Estonian allies”, the British Army spokesperson said. 

Asgard’s demonstration follows the Strategic Defence Review’s (SDR) call for the army to improve its lethality “10-times” by 2035, supported by the deployment of the targeting web by 2027, which is backed with over GBP1 billion in funding. 

The army’s strength is already doubled thanks to Asgard, according to the Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Roly Walker, who said: “Asgard helps double our lethality and exponentially reduces the time to see, decide, and strike. What took hours, now takes minutes”. 

According to the statement, the next phase of Asgard’s development will see it further realise calls for greater autonomy and AI use as well as focus on “enhancing the lethality [of the army] at the corps and divisional levels”. Asgard will draw in talent and capabilities from a wider array of industry partners as the programme develops, it continued.  

DSEI Gateway News is part of DSEI UK and the broader Clarion Defence portfolio. 
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