BPMI and Gecko Robotics Partner to Fast-Track Nuclear Submarine Delivery with AI Inspections

BPMI and Gecko Robotics Partner to Fast-Track Nuclear Submarine Delivery with AI Inspections

Published:

July 16, 2025

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Updated:

July 16, 2025

Defense Infrastructure & Manufacturing

Diego Ramos

A new alliance between Bechtel Plant Machinery Inc. (BPMI) and Pittsburgh-based Gecko Robotics was unveiled on July 15. Announced during a White House technology round-table in Pittsburgh, the arrangement places Gecko’s autonomous inspection robots and data-analytics software inside BPMI’s nuclear-propulsion supply chain. Senior Navy officials describe the move as a direct response to slipping submarine-delivery schedules and mounting maintenance backlogs.

BPMI manages design, procurement, and quality control for the Navy’s nuclear-powered fleet. Gecko provides wall-climbing robots and AI tools that map metal thickness, weld quality, and corrosion in fine detail. By merging those capabilities, the partners aim to cut inspection cycles for forged and cast components from weeks to days, creating a real-time “digital thread” that supports construction and through-life support for Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarines, Block V Virginia-class attack boats, and future SSN(X) hulls.

Program managers note that each nuclear submarine draws on roughly 4,000 suppliers. Many still exchange paper records, slowing defect resolution and obscuring traceability. BPMI will funnel robot-collected data into a shared repository accessible to designers, yard planners, and Naval Sea Systems Command inspectors. Defense officials confirm that early trials at two Mid-Atlantic foundries reduced re-inspection loops by more than 80 percent while catching out-of-tolerance flaws that once surfaced late in assembly.

The partnership arrives as submarine output lags Pentagon targets. A Government Accountability Office review in April found the Virginia Block V effort producing barely 60 percent of planned work packages, citing documentation errors and workforce churn as chief culprits. Navy staff argue that robot-verified digital records will trim rework, free scarce weld inspectors for critical seams, and shorten “queue time” between hull sections – the idle intervals that currently stretch a 66-month build plan toward 84 months.

Gecko’s Cantilever platform already supports carrier-class maintenance, but BPMI will adapt the technology to upstream forging, heat-treat, and machining lines. Robots scan components within hours of cooling, tagging each layer of metallurgy with location-based thickness, hardness, and grain data. Software then renders a high-fidelity twin that travels with the part into the submarine. When the boat enters depot-level overhaul decades later, maintainers can interrogate that twin instead of sifting through aging microfiche.

Industry sources say the change matters because chronic yard congestion now sidelines roughly 40 percent of the U.S. attack-sub fleet at any given time. Every percentage point shaved off in-dock time converts directly into global patrol days, a metric closely watched in Indo-Pacific planning. The Navy wants the first Columbia boat on deterrent patrol by 2030; delays cascade when dry-docks remain jammed with overhauls that ran long for want of material data.

Digital-first quality control also targets personnel gaps. Welding, non-destructive testing, and metrology occupations demand years of apprenticeship, yet hiring rates trail retirements. By automating measurement cycles and standardizing report templates, BPMI expects to re-task technicians toward higher-value repairs instead of repetitive gauge readings. Union leaders briefed on the plan call it “augmentation rather than replacement,” noting that human judgment still signs off final acceptance.

Capability gains expected from the BPMI-Gecko rollout:

Inspection turnaround for large forgings drops from ~21 days to <3 days.

Continuous digital thread links raw stock to in-service component, supporting predictive sustainment.

Shared data environment cuts duplicate paperwork and reduces vendor-generated non-conformances.

Autonomous robots free about 30 percent of certified inspectors for critical weld auditing.

Early-warning analytics flag material deviations before assembly, avoiding costly hull rework.
Although focused on U.S. yards, the initiative aligns with recent AUKUS export-control reforms. On July 16 Australia’s Greenroom Robotics received one of the first AUKUS licence exemptions, letting its autonomous-vessel software flow unimpeded among U.S., UK, and Australian contractors. Defense officials view that decision as a template for nimble, data-centric submarine collaboration across the three nations.

Supply-chain resilience remains a concern. BPMI must integrate Gecko’s cloud-based analytics with vendors ranging from tier-one turbine casters to family-owned machine shops. Cyber-hardening teams will sandbox sensitive files and enforce zero-trust access controls. Program engineers insist those measures add weeks, not months, to rollout, arguing that secure interoperability beats siloed spreadsheets when force-generation margins tighten.

Cost control is equally pressing. Unit prices for the Virginia class have risen roughly 25 percent since Block IV, driven partly by rework and inflationary metals pricing. By compressing inspection queues and shrinking scrap rates, BPMI models project lifecycle savings close to $2 billion across the next ten submarines. Congress has signaled support, tying a portion of FY-26 advance procurement funds to demonstrable schedule gains.

Defense officials confirm that initial robot deployments will center on critical forgings for reactor coolant pumps and steam generators. Assuming validation within six months, the Navy will expand coverage to propulsor shafts, pressure hull rings, and missile-tube liners. Gecko technicians are training weld inspectors at Newport News Shipbuilding and Electric Boat to operate the sensor suite, with an eye toward full yard self-sufficiency by late 2026.

Program oversight committees warn that digital transformation can stall if legacy enterprise-resource-planning systems refuse to talk with emerging cloud tools. BPMI has budgeted interface adapters and middleware gateways into its FY-25 tech-refresh package. A joint Navy-BPMI cyber-authority will certify each integration step to prevent supply-chain data leaks. According to industry consultants, modular connectors – not monolithic overhauls – offer the fastest route to at-scale adoption.

Beyond submarines, BPMI foresees applying the model to nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and future hybrid-drive surface combatants. Advanced analytics could predict weld creep in carrier catapult cylinders or spot micro-pitting in propeller hubs long before vibration sensors trigger alarms. In each case, data gathered at birth guides sustainment choices decades later, shrinking total ownership cost.

Projected rollout milestones:

3Q 2025 – Complete integration of Cantilever analytics with BPMI’s material-resource planning system.

4Q 2025 – Begin robot-based inspections of reactor coolant pump stators at vendor site in Ohio.

1Q 2026 – Expand coverage to hull ring forgings; transfer training curriculum to Navy welding school.

3Q 2026 – Attain full digital-thread compliance for Block VI Virginia-class boats.
Our analysis shows the BPMI-Gecko collaboration could reclaim as much as 18 months across a Columbia-class production run, effectively adding an extra deployed submarine by the early 2030s without ordering another hull. Whether that gain materializes depends on sustained funding, rapid cyber-certification, and disciplined execution across thousands of suppliers. Still, defense planners view the partnership as an instructive model for fusing robotics, AI, and secure cloud tools into shipbuilding at the speed demanded by today’s naval competition.

REFERENCE SOURCES

https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2025/07/new-partnership-looks-speed-delivery-nuclear-submarines-other-vessels/406752/

https://www.geckorobotics.com/news/gecko-robotics-bpmi

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/australian-ai-startup-granted-aukus-exemption-autonomous-vessel-software-2025-07-16/

https://www.marinelink.com/news/greenroom-robotics-granted-aukus-528025

https://infomarine.net/en/insight/56-marinelog/33341-bpmi%2C-gecko-robotics-partner-t.html

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