What does the panel think of the Defence Investment Plan's emphasis on AI, quantum technology, and uncrewed systems?
Short answerThey see useful ideas buried in a plan that underestimates communications, electrical power, semiconductor supply, and the peacetime limits of uncrewed ships.
NotesThe panel questions whether the promised advantages of AI and quantum computing outweigh their power and communications demands. A highly computerized warship could devote so much machinery and space to electricity generation that it resembles a floating power plant. Uncrewed vessels are also judged poorly suited to the peacetime diplomacy carried out by sailors. Rapid wartime production would depend on access to advanced semiconductor fabrication. The plan's political durability remains uncertain, with the possibility that a successor government could revise it after feedback.