ARMOR Force
“Hybrid and autonomous fleets cannot wait. The navies that succeed will be those that can integrate faster, adapt more quickly, and work with allies at greater scale and with greater resilience, because the demand is already there and it is beyond what the current model can fulfil alone. If we do that well, the result will be stronger deterrence, more resilient fleets, and a more credible allied maritime posture for the decade ahead.”
Sir Nick Hine, CEO of Babcock’s Marine sector speaking at the Combined Naval Event 2026.
ARMOR Force – Autonomous and Remote, Maritime Operational Response Force – redefines maritime operations by providing a truly hybrid naval architecture and integration that connects crewed platforms with multiple autonomous systems.
ARMOR Force is engineered to deliver agility, reach and resilience at scale – maximising combat power while enabling crews to focus on the highest-priority operational tasks.
At its core, the Arrowhead platform acts as a Common Command Vessel. This connects and orchestrates a network of advanced autonomous and remotely operated systems, deployed on uncrewed platforms, using modular, containerised payloads.
Together, this creates a distributed, reconfigurable fleet that can rapidly adapt to changing mission demands, extend operational reach without increasing manpower, and maintain effectiveness in contested environments, ensuring fleets remain at the forefront of maritime security for decades to come.
Hybrid maritime advantage
ARMOR Force combines crewed, lean-crewed, and uncrewed systems into a single operating architecture – crewed ships become “Common Command Vessels” that control dispersed autonomous assets to maximise reach, agility, and resilience.
Commanded autonomy
The future is integrated, distributed assets, maintaining constant presence, accelerating central commanded decision-making.
Interoperable by design
Built on open standards to enable collaboration with allies, ARMOR ensures national sovereignty and seamless interoperability.
Enabling commanded autonomy through integrated systems
Babcock acts as the prime systems integrator, delivering a connected architecture that brings together crewed platforms, autonomous systems, and modular payloads under a single model of commanded autonomy, ensuring control is retained while scale is achieved.
Common Command Vessel (CCV)
The Arrowhead platform will act as the physical centre of
authority, hosting command teams and control systems, providing a sovereign decision-making environment.
Modular mission packages
Modular, containerised containerised Persistent Operational Deployment
Systems, known as PODS, provide deployable payloads across uncrewed systems, enabling rapid reconfiguration and interoperability.
Mission system software
The digital backbone, connecting tried and tested platforms, data
and autonomous vessels into one operation system, supporting interoperability across allied forces.
Authority retained. Advantage scaled.
“The key distinction is between disconnected autonomy and commanded autonomy. Autonomy without command is vulnerability. Autonomy under authority is advantage.”
Sir Nick Hine
We will equip all platforms with sophisticated edge processing, utilising innovative market AI technologies that ensure humans remain the authority. Sensors and AI technology means that the USV can continue to operate safely within communications denied environments
ARMOR Force is built on the principle of autonomy under authority, ensuring the skilled crews remain responsible for intent and accountability, and the autonomous systems deliver persistence, scale and support. The result is a force capable of making faster, more informed decisions while remaining firmly grounded in human authority decision making.
What ARMOR Force delivers
ARMOR Force delivers a dispersed, data-driven and interoperable capability for both military and humanitarian operations worldwide.
Our range of USVs will carry intermodal PODS for flexible, varied payloads, offering the opportunity to deploy an infinite range of equipment, weapons and capabilities to support military and humanitarian missions across the globe.
Babcock’s POD ecosystem delivers modular capability to the front line and could include:
- Uncrewed underwater vessels (UUVs)
- Anti-submarine warfare (ASW)
- Uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs)
- Missile launcher
- Asset maintenance
- Medical unit
- Power generations
- Command suite
- Temporary accommodation
ARMOR Force is designed to support a fully-integrated partnership approach to hybrid naval operations. Supported by our SME network and allied infrastructure, ARMOR can be deployed globally at scale. AI-informed systems and continuous tracking provide the insight and coordination needed to sustain persistent operations.
Contact us
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