UK defense company QinetiQ is helping the Royal Navy host the first Information Warrior (IW17) exercise, which aims to drive the future development of cutting edge warfare capabilities.
Taking place between 27 March and 7 April, the exercise will be hosted at Royal Marine Barracks Stonehouse, Plymouth, and at QinetiQ’s Portsdown Technology Park in Portsmouth.
The Royal Navy-led Information Warrior will develop and test a new innovative range of Information Warfare capabilities through a series of trials that will include defensive cyber operations, digital influence operations and artificial intelligence (AI).
The exercise will demonstrate innovative ways of using and interpreting information and intelligence via five key themes, which QinetiQ will integrate into the overall exercise. The five themes include AI, command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C4I), information exploitation, cyber and electromagnetic activity, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
As the first in a series of Information Warriors, this event will provide a benchmark of current capability and allow for further testing over time with the intention of enabling greater involvement from industry.
“Building on the success of At Sea Demonstration 2015 and Unmanned Warrior 2016, we have been able to use our expertise to make industry and the armed forces think differently and to innovate as to how information channels will develop in the future,” Sarah Kenny , QinetiQ managing director for maritime, land & weapons said.