Defence Secretary opens city AI factory

THE official opening of a cutting edge manufacturing facility to build AI powered autonomous gliders to help allied navies hunt down enemy submarines was officially opened in Plymouth yesterday by Defence Secretary John Healey.

- By ALISON STEPHENSON

Helsing’s Resilience Factory, part of the German tech giant's £350 million investment in the UK, has been described as the next exciting chapter for marine autonomy in Plymouth and a major vote of confidence in the city.

Bringing high quality jobs to Plymouth, the firm expects double the workforce from 50 to 100 next year. The plan to build a factory was announced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves in July.

A month earlier Plymouth was given the title of the National Centre for Marine Autonomy by the government because of its expertise in this field and being home to the largest cluster of marine science researchers in the UK.

The city has also been named as one of five key national defence growth areas in the UK Defence Industrial Strategy and £4.4 billion of government defence funding is going into the city over the next decade to support the Royal Navy's submarine programme and ensure the Continuous at Sea Deterrent.