Thales tech boosts Saildrone’s Surveyor undersea detection capabilities

Thales Australia’s BlueSentry thin-line towed sonar array has been successfully integrated into Saildrone’s Surveyor-class uncrewed surface vehicle (USV).

Thales Australia’s BlueSentry thin-line towed array is a next-generation sonar payload designed and manufactured to enhance ASW and maritime domain awareness. It employs acoustic sensor technology for both active and passive applications, along with advanced signal processing, recording, and reporting capabilities.

All components of BlueSentry, from the array to the data processing, are developed, manufactured and integrated in Thales Australia’s facility in Rydalmere, Western Sydney.

During a continuous 26-day mission off the coast of California, the system identified and tracked vessels of interest in real-time for further investigation.

The system showed particularly strong results in maintaining continuous surveillance across high-traffic areas where traditional maritime security assets are stretched thin and face significant operational challenges, according to Thales. The company added that it also showed an ability to detect and track surface vessels, submarines and UUVs.

The successful trial was funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research. The Thales-Saildrone partnership marks an important step towards expanding the scope of naval interoperability and autonomous maritime capability developments between AUKUS partners to deliver on AUKUS Pillar 2 requirements.

“This partnership and integration set the standard for future intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance at sea particularly in sensitive and remote regions where traditional maritime security assets are stretched thin and have significant operational challenges,” Jeff Connolly, CEO, Thales Australia and New Zealand, said.

“The integration of Thales Australia’s BlueSentry onto Saildrone’s Surveyor-class, as a core component of its maritime domain awareness solution, paves the way for greater naval interoperability between AUKUS partners and delivers on AUKUS Pillar 2 Undersea Warfare needs.”

“The acoustic performance of the BlueSentry array, paired with a platform as silent and capable as the Saildrone Surveyor, represents a considerable step forward in undersea observation,” added Richard Jenkins, founder and CEO of Saildrone.

AUKUS Pillar 2 refers to a suite of cooperative activities conducted by the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia to develop and field “advanced capabilities” under the AUKUS security partnership.

To date, Pillar 2 activities have been coordinated among the three governments by a number of means, including topic-specific working groups. At least eight such groups are currently active: six address technological areas and two address functional areas. The current working groups are

• Undersea capabilities;
• Quantum technologies;
• Artificial intelligence and autonomy;
• Advanced cyber;
• Hypersonic and counter-hypersonic capabilities;
• Electronic warfare;
• Innovation; and
• Information sharing.

Earlier on, under the AUKUS pact, the partners tested several autonomous and networked systems during a three-week maritime experimentation called Autonomous Warrior 24 in Australia.