SEA, iXblue unveil autonomous anti-submarine surveillance system

Defense technology company SEA and navigation systems provider iXblue have joined forces to develop an autonomous anti-submarine surveillance system at the DSEI conference in London.

SeaDrix, as the system is named, is intended for long endurance surveillance patrols and can be deployed as a standalone asset or as part of a wider anti-submarine warfare (ASW) surveillance system.

SeaDrix combines SEA’s low-profile acoustic sensor, KraitArray, with iXblue’s unmanned surface vessel, DriX, to create a system that can operate in open ocean conditions and for up to ten days un-refueled or much longer with at-sea refueling system.

KraitArray is a thin 20 mm modular array that detects acoustic signatures from submarine contacts. Optimized for use with autonomous systems, the KraitArray consists of up to 150-meter sections that can be tailored to meet the objectives of a specific mission.

SeaDrix is 7.7 meters long and 3 meters high, meaning that it can be transported globally in an ISO container. It has its own deployment system (DDS) that can launch, recover and refuel SeaDrix at sea from a single point crane or davit either onboard or on a jetty.

“This is an exciting development. Bringing safety and efficiency to the warfighter, the unique combination of SEA’s KraitArray and our autonomous surface vessel DriX brings a new, durable anti-submarine surveillance capability to naval forces around the world,” Guillaume Eudeline, Business Development Manager at iXblue, said.