BMT launches new Digital Innovation and Simulation Centre

BMT today announced the opening of its Digital Innovation and Simulation Centre (DISC) at the organisation’s Fareham site - a world‑class facility created to transform how teams and customers innovate, collaborate and de‑risk decisions across complex maritime and multi‑domain programmes. The centre strengthens BMT’s digital‑first ambition and turns its UK–Europe regional strategy into a tangible customer experience, providing a premium environment for high‑value simulation, immersive engineering and commercially focused engagement.​​

Building on more than 40 years of leadership in maritime simulation and digital consultancy, and a heritage that traces back to the British Ship Research Association and National Maritime Institute, DISC brings together BMT’s flagship innovations in one integrated space. The facility is powered by the award‑winning BMT REMBRANDT navigation simulator - a DNV‑accredited system used globally for port feasibility, pilotage training and quantitative navigation studies - alongside new digital visualisation and synthetic environments that support autonomy assurance, cyber resilience and advanced incident analysis.​​

Located within the Spectrum building at Fareham, DISC offers a customer‑focused, self‑contained collaboration space that includes a reconfigurable Full Mission Bridge (FMB) for defence and commercial vessels, two 360‑degree pod simulators, two small‑vessel simulators, a Remote Operations Centre (ROC), a Scenario Control Room, an Instructor/Briefing Room and multiple meeting and breakout spaces. One of the UK’s largest specialised LED video walls provides a fully immersive canvas for multi‑vessel operations, port and coastal studies, complex tow‑outs, incident reconstructions and digital storyboards.​

Underpinning the Full Mission Bridge is BMT REMBRANDT’s high‑fidelity hydrodynamic engine, which enables everything from tug and pilot training through to litigation‑grade reconstruction and ship‑to‑ship transfer analysis. DISC also hosts the MASS SEAS (Marine Autonomous Surface Ship Synthetic Environment Assurance System) synthetic environment, allowing customers and regulators to run DNV‑grade, simulator‑based trials of autonomous navigation systems and demonstrate compliance with emerging MASS and COLREGs requirements in a modern, DNV “Class A” accredited simulator facility.​​​

Beyond navigation, BMT ENGAGE - powered by Unreal Engine - allows users to create photorealistic digital twins, virtual ship walk‑throughs and cyber and wargaming scenarios, as well as immersive VR/AR training programmes and human–machine interface evaluations. These capabilities directly support BMT’s autonomy campaign, digital ports work, ship design assurance and global marine incident analysis, making DISC a transversal enabler for high-value programmes.​​

“DISC is a bold step forward in our digital‑first journey,” said Sarah Kenny, Chief Executive, OBE, BMT. “By combining immersive simulation, autonomous systems assurance and advanced visualisation in a single, secure environment, we’re giving our customers a digital canvas where they can explore options, test complex scenarios and make faster, better‑informed decisions - all while reducing risk and time to market.”​​

Jake Rigby, Global Head of Innovation and Research at BMT, added:

“For us, DISC isn’t just a simulator suite, it is a launchpad for innovation. It brings together our proprietary REMBRANDT and ENGAGE technologies and our synthetic assurance environments in one place, so defence and commercial partners can build trusted autonomous and digital solutions.”​​

The investment aligns directly with BMT’s regional strategy for UK–Europe and its wider growth ambitions, enhancing how the business develops and applies its product portfolio, supporting its maritime autonomous systems and digital innovation campaigns and creating a dedicated innovation hub in a key maritime cluster. The DISC will support a growing pipeline of defence and commercial opportunities and is expected to play a central role in international programmes, including simulation‑based assurance for autonomous vessels, digital ports, complex operations training and ship design de‑risking.

To showcase the new facility, BMT is planning a press day at its Fareham office on 13 March. During the event, invited media will hear from BMT’s innovation and simulation experts on the vision behind DISC, the latest advances in REMBRANDT, ENGAGE and MASS SEAS, and how these capabilities are supporting customers in autonomy, digital ports and naval programmes. Journalists will be able to experience the expanded simulation suite first‑hand, “drive” scenarios on the Full Mission Bridge, experiment with BMT’s latest digital visualisation tools, capture photography and access fresh video footage for broadcast and online use.​​

DISC supports secure in‑person and remote engagements, enabling globally distributed teams to participate in joint design reviews, assurance campaigns and training events, with integrated booking and session management to streamline workshops and programme delivery. By anchoring this capability in Fareham - alongside BMT’s long‑standing maritime expertise - the organisation is reinforcing its commitment to the Solent region while delivering a scalable, exportable model for digital innovation that can be replicated across its APAC and North American businesses over time.