DEFONEOS Five Eyes Sovereign AI Proposal — 5 Nations, BFT-33, 12-Month Rollout, £5.58M 5y

1. Why this page exists

The Five Eyes (FVEY) alliance — UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United States — is the deepest intelligence-sharing partnership in the world. The FVEY AI workstream is the next-generation sovereign AI capability for the alliance; DEFONEOS is positioned as the sovereign AI substrate underneath the FVEY AI capability. The proposal documents the 5-nation expansion, the BFT-33 governance model, the 12-month rollout, and the £5.58M 5-year budget.

This page is the public proposal for DEFONEOS in the Five Eyes AI workstream. It is written for the named FVEY programme manager and the named AI capability lead inside each nation's intelligence and defence establishment.

2. The 5 nations

The US entry is the highest-friction (US sovereignty concerns); the other 4 nations are the lower-friction routes. The BFT-33 governance model is the 5-nation answer to the US sovereignty concerns — every major deliverable is signed off by 23 of 33 named members, including 3 US-domiciled, US-cleared members.

3. The BFT-33 governance model

The BFT-33 council is the 33-member governance body that signs off every major DEFONEOS deliverable. The council has 33 named members; quorum is 23 of 33; a typical vote is 28 approve / 5 amend / 0 reject. The 33 members are distributed across the 5 FVEY nations:

The BFT-33 council is the chain of evidence for the FVEY sovereignty claim. The council signs off every major deliverable; the SIGIL pack is the chain of custody; the public evidence pack is the chain of transparency.

4. The 12-month rollout

4.1 — Months 0-3: Discovery + setup

1. FVEY programme manager and 5-nation capability leads confirm the FVEY AI workstream scope.
2. DEFONEOS submits the sovereign proof pack; the BFT-33 council reviews and approves (typical: 28-approve / 5-amend / 0-reject).
3. 5-nation engagement letters are signed; the 5-nation pilot teams are formed.
4. DEFONEOS stands up the sovereign inference mesh (5 nation-specific enclaves inside the substrate).

4.2 — Months 3-6: Pilot

1. 5 sovereign AI pilots, one per nation, each 90-day, each £240k.
2. 5 pilot evidence packs, SIGIL-anchored, framework-mapped, 12-framework coverage.
3. 5 sovereignty reports, one per nation, FVEY-branded.
4. BFT-33 council signs off each pilot at the end of month 6.

4.3 — Months 6-9: Capability

1. DEFONEOS becomes the sovereign AI substrate for each nation's FVEY AI capability.
2. 5 multi-year capability contracts signed; framework-based; 3-year initial + 2-year extension.
3. SIGIL-anchored operational SLA begins (99.9% availability, 4-hour SEV-1 response).

4.4 — Months 9-12: Review + renew

1. FVEY AI workstream review (the 5-nation public deliverable).
2. BFT-33 council sign-off; SIGIL pack archived; 5-year report published.
3. Renewal decision; Y2 capability budget confirmed; expansion to additional FVEY use cases.

5. The £5.58M 5-year budget

The £5.58M 5-year budget is the total DEFONEOS share of the FVEY AI workstream:

The £5.58M is the DEFONEOS share only. The total FVEY AI workstream budget is £27.9M (5 nations × £5.58M = £27.9M). The UK contribution is £5.58M; the AUS, US, NZ, Canada contributions are proportional to each nation's FVEY share.

6. The 5-nation use cases

The FVEY AI workstream has 5 sovereign AI use cases (one per nation):

1. UK — Sovereign AI for defence intelligence: ISR, OSINT, C2, autonomous-systems. The UK use case is the lead; DEFONEOS provides the sovereign substrate.
2. Australia — Sovereign AI for Indo-Pacific ISR: Maritime ISR, undersea surveillance, autonomous-systems. The AUS use case is the Indo-Pacific lead; DEFONEOS provides the sovereign substrate for the joint AUS-US maritime capability.
3. Canada — Sovereign AI for 5-eyes data fusion: Cyber, signals intelligence, cross-nation data fusion. The CAN use case is the cyber lead; DEFONEOS provides the sovereign substrate for the joint CAN-US-UK 5-eyes data-fusion capability.
4. New Zealand — Sovereign AI for maritime + Southern Ocean: Maritime surveillance, Southern Ocean monitoring, autonomous-systems. The NZ use case is the maritime lead; DEFONEOS provides the sovereign substrate for the joint NZ-AUS maritime capability.
5. United States — Sovereign AI for defence + intelligence + cyber: All-domain. The US use case is the highest-friction (US sovereignty concerns); DEFONEOS provides the sovereign substrate as a sub-contract to the US prime.

7. The 5-question audit

The non-cooperative audit asks 5 questions. The FVEY AI workstream answers all 5:

1. Q1 — How many nations are covered? A — 5/5 (UK, AUS, CAN, NZ, US).
2. Q2 — How many BFT-33 members? A — 33; quorum 23; typical 28-approve / 5-amend / 0-reject.
3. Q3 — What is the rollout duration? A — 12 months (discovery → pilot → capability → review).
4. Q4 — What is the 5-year budget? A — £5.58M (DEFONEOS share); £27.9M (total FVEY AI workstream).
5. Q5 — What is the chain of evidence? A — The SIGIL pack; every deliverable is SIGIL-anchored; the BFT-33 council signs off every major deliverable; the public evidence pack is the chain of transparency.

Appendix B — The 5-nation use cases — detail

The 5 FVEY use cases are:

1. UK — Sovereign AI for defence intelligence (ISR, OSINT, C2): Lead use case. UK Dstl + GCHQ. DEFONEOS substrate. £2.5M 5-year.
2. Australia — Sovereign AI for Indo-Pacific ISR (maritime, undersea): Joint AUS-US. DSTG + ASD. DEFONEOS substrate. £1.0M 5-year.
3. Canada — Sovereign AI for 5-eyes data fusion (cyber, SIGINT): Joint CAN-US-UK. CSE + DRDC. DEFONEOS substrate. £0.8M 5-year.
4. New Zealand — Sovereign AI for maritime + Southern Ocean: Joint NZ-AUS. GCSB + DTA. DEFONEOS substrate. £0.4M 5-year.
5. United States — Sovereign AI for defence + intelligence + cyber: All-domain. NSA + DARPA. DEFONEOS substrate (sub-contract to US prime). £0.88M 5-year.

The 5 use cases are the FVEY AI workstream. The 5-nation expansion is the scaling plan. The £5.58M 5-year budget is the funding.

Appendix C — Glossary

• FVEY — Five Eyes — the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United States intelligence alliance.
• BFT-33 — The 33-member BFT council that signs off every major DEFONEOS deliverable.
• GCHQ — Government Communications Headquarters — the UK's signals intelligence and cryptography agency.
• ASD — Australian Signals Directorate — Australia's signals intelligence and cryptography agency.
• CSE — Communications Security Establishment — Canada's signals intelligence and cryptography agency.