The Royal Air Force (RAF) is exploring how artificial intelligence (AI) could help commanders make faster, data-driven decisions through a program called Project Boyd.
The initiative positions AI as a support tool for command and control rather than a combat system.
Details of the project emerged in a written parliamentary answer, following a question from Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty.
Defence Minister Luke Pollard described Project BOYD as “a series of operational capability demonstrators harnessing AI to transform complex, time-consuming, and resource intensive command and control planning cycles.”
The goal: to enable “machine-speed, data-centric decision making” that produces a decision-action cycle “palpably better than those of our adversaries.”
Phased Testing
Project Boyd will progress through a series of demonstrator exercises, allowing the RAF to test AI concepts in realistic planning environments before broader adoption.
This phased approach helps identify effective tools, address limitations, and assess whether AI-enabled planning delivers a measurable operational advantage.
The project builds on the UK military’s largest AI experiment to date, conducted in mid-2025, which tested how advanced algorithms could enhance battlefield operations across land, sea, and air.
