Babcock continues to innovate through Arqit partnership

Published by

Tom Kilkelly

Credit: Babcock International

Babcock International, an engineering services with branches in Plymouth and Bristol, has developed a technology with the capability of controlling single or entire fleets of vehicles in a defence environment.

The project was created in collaboration with Arqit, a quantum-safe encryption company supported by Innovate UK.

SwarmCore technology is an advanced software system made up of multiple networks. It can be used to control single or entire fleets of vehicles such as drones. It can be operated either fully autonomously or by remote human control at a safe distance from the battlefield.

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With the integration of Arqit’s encryption technology, information carried on encrypted keys to and from assets will benefit from robust protection against cyber-attacks.

Brad Yelland, Babcock’s Chief Engineering and Technology Officer, said: “Combining both autonomous systems with advanced software that can deal with potential cyber threats could be a gamechanger in the modern defence landscape.

“Disruptive technologies such as AI, machine learning and quantum are playing an increasingly important role in the changing digital defence landscape and the rise in cyber threats.

“For our defence customers, developing technologies like this gives them more control in today’s complex defence environment, increased performance and security along with the ability for their teams to perform tasks remotely with solutions that are quicker and more cost effective to implement.”

Tom Kilkelly

Tom Kilkelly started working as a freelance journalist for The Business Magazine following his graduation from UCL in 2022. During his studies Tom became very interested in the works of Irish authors including Samuel Beckett and Flann O'Brien (Brian O'Nolan). His current role as a freelance business reporter is his first exposure to the world of business journalism. Working at TBM has given Tom the chance to really get to grips with the goings-on in the business hive that is the South East.