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Saildrone, in collaboration with Thales Australia, has successfully demonstrated the integration of the BlueSentry thin-line towed sonar array with the Saildrone Surveyor USV, creating a groundbreaking system for autonomous long-endurance undersea maritime domain awareness (MDA).
The project, funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), marks a significant leap forward in persistent, real-time, undersea surveillance.
Extensive sea trials conducted off the coast of California have demonstrated that this system can effectively detect and classify both underwater and surface threats and report this information to decision makers in real time. During the ONR trial, the Saildrone Surveyor and BlueSentry system operated continuously for 26 days and maintained uptime greater than 96%.
The trials showed that, under wind propulsion, the Surveyor provided a near-zero self-noise environment, significantly improving the detection capabilities of the BlueSentry sonar system. Utilizing Starlink and Iridium satellite communications, the system is capable of persistent, secure data transmission, supporting real-time decision-making from remote locations worldwide.
Saildrone and Thales Australia stand ready to deploy these systems at scale, creating a network of autonomous, self-sustaining surveillance assets to enhance national security. As threats evolve and the demand for persistent undersea awareness increases, the Saildrone-Thales system offers a scalable, low-cost alternative to traditional surveillance platforms.
Richard Jenkins, founder and CEO of Saildrone, commented, “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.
“The extreme endurance of the system allows us to put eyes and ears in places that were previously out of reach, at a cost point orders of magnitude below traditional manned surveillance platforms.”
Jeff Connolly, CEO, Thales Australia and New Zealand, added, “This partnership and ready-to-deploy capability set the standard for future intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance at sea, particularly in sensitive and remote regions that have significant operational challenges.
“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 requirements.”
