# Develop an AI defence partnership with the US

> “I am announcing today that we are developing a new AI defence partnership with the US to protect our critical national infrastructure.”
>
> — Andy Burnham, Prime Minister, Labour Party; Speech to the UN General Assembly, 22 September 2026

- **Status:** Promised
- **Status ladder:** Promised → In plan → Legislated → Funded → Delivering → Delivered
- **Policy area:** [Defence](https://ledgergov.uk/promises/area/defence)
- **Speaker:** [Andy Burnham](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/andy-burnham), Prime Minister
- **Party:** [Labour Party](https://ledgergov.uk/actor/labour)
- **Made on:** 22 September 2026
- **Where:** Speech to the UN General Assembly
- **Cost a year:** No costing published
- **Who it affects:** The UK's critical national infrastructure, and the people and services that depend on it
- **When:** Not stated
- **Paid for by:** Not stated when it was announced
- **Quote source:** https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-speech-at-unga-22-september-2026 (checked word for word at its source on 20 October 2026; Open Government Licence v3.0)
- **Last updated:** 20 October 2026
- **Card:** https://ledgergov.uk/promise/uk-us-ai-defence-partnership-2026

## Where it stands

No 10 said the same day that the Ministry of Defence's Rapid AI Delivery Taskforce and the US Department of War's Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office will work together on AI and autonomy, to help protect critical national infrastructure from sea lanes to air space. No date, cost or agreement has been published. The card moves when the two governments publish the partnership's terms or its first joint work.

## Timeline

- 22 September 2026, Promised: The Prime Minister tells the UN General Assembly the UK is developing a new AI defence partnership with the US to protect critical national infrastructure

## About the cost

No cost has been published.

## Sources

- [Prime Minister's Office: PM speech at UNGA, 22 September 2026](https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-speech-at-unga-22-september-2026)
- [Prime Minister's Office, 22 Sep 2026: Prime Minister drives global work on artificial intelligence at UNGA](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-drives-global-work-on-artificial-intelligence-at-unga-as-uk-and-us-make-history-with-firing-from-undersea-drone)

## Checks

- Checked automatically by AI Journalist, not yet verified by an editor.
- Checked by AI Journalist (automated) on 20 October 2026.

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