Babcock looks to test swarm technology in military environment

Babcock International Group has demonstrated to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) swarming control technology it developed with quantum-safe encryption company Arqit.

The demonstration of SwarmCore technology, an advanced software system made up of multiple networks, took place in early December at the MoD’s BattleLab site in Dorset and the project was supported by supported by the UK’s national innovation agency, Innovate UK.

SwarmCore, which is ready to be tested in the military environment, can be operated either fully autonomously or by remote human control at a safe distance from the battlefield.

According to Babcock, one of the key benefits of SwarmCore and its integration with Arqit’s Symmetric Key Agreement Platform, is its ability to receive and transmit data in a safe and secure way in a decentralised manner.

According to Babcock chief engineering and technology officer Brad Yelland, combining autonomous systems with advanced software can help deal with potential cyber threats and therefore is important in the modern defence landscape.

‘Disruptive technologies such as AI, machine learning and quantum - are playing an increasingly important role in the changing defence landscape and the rise in cyber threats,’ Yelland said.

‘Developing technologies like this gives operators 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.’