{"id":5179,"date":"2026-01-29T10:35:39","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T10:35:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/defense-business-brief-fairbanks-engine-cobots-2025-q4-earnings-and-a-bit-more\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T10:35:40","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T10:35:40","slug":"defense-business-brief-fairbanks-engine-cobots-2025-q4-earnings-and-a-bit-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sawahsolutions.com\/range\/defense-business-brief-fairbanks-engine-cobots-2025-q4-earnings-and-a-bit-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Defense Business Brief: Fairbanks\u2019 engine cobots; 2025 Q4 earnings; and a bit more"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Two U.S. Navy submarines\u2014one Los Angeles-class and one Ohio-class\u2014are using robots to help extend the life of aging engines, Steve Pykett, CEO of Fairbanks Morse Defense, told Defense One<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo maintain that engine and keep it in service for longer and longer, we go in, we lift the crankshaft, the casing up. Conventionally, we would ask one of our skilled welders to sit inside that engine casing\u2014there’s a two-foot opening\u2014and weld hundreds of weld beads to build up those wear locations. And that’s clearly not a nice task to ask them to do. It’s very, very high temperature, very dirty, not a pleasant experience,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

So, Fairbanks is using cobots, or collaborative robots, that use machine learning to automate the process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cobots are particularly useful for repeated, time-consuming welding tasks, with an experienced operator nearby to make sure everything goes well. And using them more could help keep shipbuilding and maintenance schedules on track.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe operator is still there outside the engine, in a safer environment. They’re monitoring, supervising, and if there’s any special cause of events\u2026[they] may have to go in and investigate,\u201d Pykett said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the best part, he said, is the cobots shrink a multi-week process to days.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause we have to weld, we have to machine, we have to peen the surface. What was five weeks is now five days,\u201d Pykett said. \u201cIn terms of being able to turn these availabilities around in a compressed schedule and get the fleet back out into theater; that’s a major win for us.”<\/p>\n

Pykett said Fairbanks already commonly uses automation for machining original equipment, such as forgings, but wants to expand the tech\u2019s use on submarines and surface vessels.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re already taking that same system and developing it so we could potentially go into other confined spaces within subs and surface fleet vessels, and developing even further so it could, effectively, autoguide itself around a pressure vessel, for example,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, within our engine environment, it’s very predictable. We can put on a rail and it will, effectively, still seek and find the right locations geometrically. But we want to be able to go in and develop that further, so that it can go in more complex geometries and more complex spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n

Welcome<\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve reached the Defense Business Brief, where we dig into what the Pentagon buys, who they\u2019re buying from, and why. Send along your tips, feedback, and rooftop recommendations to lwilliams@defenseone.com<\/strong>. Check out the Defense Business Brief archive here<\/strong>, and tell your friends and foes to subscribe<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

2025 Q4 earnings highlights<\/strong><\/p>\n

Three of the biggest defense contractors held earnings calls this week. Here\u2019s what stood out:\u00a0<\/p>\n