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UK Opens New AI-Powered Underwater Drone Facility
Helsing's £350 million UK investment aims to double Plymouth workforce to 100, producing AI-powered SG-1 gliders for undersea surveillance and allied maritime defence.
- On Wednesday, Helsing opened its first UK Resilience Factory in Plymouth, an 18,000-square-foot site, with John Healey, Secretary of State for Defence, leading the launch to produce SG-1 Fathom autonomous underwater gliders.
- The government says the move was prompted by Russia's "shadow fleet" capable of mapping and potentially sabotaging UK undersea cables, citing Yantar's laser incidents this month and its return in recent weeks.
- The SG-1 Fathom will integrate with Lura Maritime AI's large acoustic model for real-time detection and classification, while gliders can operate for three months and be deployed in hundreds as swarms.
- Production has already begun and testing is underway at Turnchapel Wharf, Plymouth, and the British Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre, creating high-skilled jobs in the South West and expanding supply chains.
- The move ties into government defence plans, with at least 10% of Ministry of Defence equipment procurement aimed at novel technologies and spending rising to 2.6% of GDP by April 2027.
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Leaning Left1Leaning Right0Center5Last UpdatedBias Distribution83% Center
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- 83% of the sources are Center
83% Center
L 17%
C 83%
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