Babcock, Frankenburg and ACUA to collaborate on maritime counter-drone systems

The MoU builds on the existing partnership Babcock signed with Frankenburg in January to explore new air defence systems that can withstand the rapid rise in one-way attack drones.

Babcock’s multi-domain launcher system and Frankenburg’s precision-guided missile systems will be integrated into ACUA’s uncrewed surface vessels (USV).

Last month, ACUA’s PIONEER USV operated continuously for 16–20 nautical miles offshore, completing more than 100 hours at sea without any hands-on intervention.

Future hybrid navy

The tripartite agreement underpins Babcock’s development of the technologies and capabilities to underpin next-generation autonomous capability in support of the UK’s vision for a hybrid navy. Babcock’s launcher system can be built and scaled quickly and fitted onto both crewed and uncrewed surface vessels.

Sir Nick Hine, Chief Growth Officer for Babcock, said: “We’re excited to partner with innovative companies to develop an integrated approach that directly addresses some of the biggest challenges our customers face in today’s defence landscape.

“As a trusted systems integrator, collaborations like this will help protect critical national assets and infrastructure from attributable one-way attack drones.”

Neil Tinmouth, CEO of ACUA Ocean Technologies, welcomed the announcement, saying: “Partnering with Babcock and Frankenburg enables true persistent, multi-domain defence capabilities. To counter mass drone attacks, maritime air defence must be uninterrupted, yet rough weather often forces traditional systems out of limits. The unique stability of ACUA’s Pioneer-class, which we’ll be using for this collaboration, ensures these counter UAS and interchangeable payloads remain online and fully operational in high seas where other platforms fail.”

Daniel Hallett, Managing Director, UK at Frankenburg Technologies, added: “Affordable missile defence is heading farther out to sea. By equipping ACUA’s uncrewed vessels with Frankenburg’s mass-manufacturable missiles and Babcock’s launcher technology, we aim to create a persistent and low-cost way to protect the UK’s ships, ports and critical maritime infrastructure against mass drone attacks.”