Unchartered territory: how Project CABOT’s collaborative approach puts SMEs at the heart of redefining Anti-Submarine Warfare

CABOT is not a standalone initiative. It’s grounded firmly within the broader strategic imperative for persistent, integrated and decisive ASW capability across the North Atlantic. The stakes are high: as undersea threats proliferate and adversaries grow more agile and emboldened, so too must the UK’s ability to detect, track, and respond with equal speed and accuracy.

From a technical standpoint, the programme’s challenges range from sensor fusion and data latency to the orchestration of autonomous systems at scale, each buffeted by environmental factors (temperatures, salinity, currents and seabed topography) which will affect the ongoing effectiveness of the ASW barrier. 

Power supply and sustainability remains a constraint for long-duration, real-world deployments, especially when many current autonomous platforms can only stay on task for a few days.

Then there are the more bureaucratic, institutional barriers to greater industry collaboration and SME engagement with programmes like CABOT. Where SMEs face time-intensive, costly compliance requirements and bidding processes that divert resources away from core business activities. There may also be difficulty connecting with - and differentiating themselves from - larger organisations, and limited access to funding (to name but a few).

But the mood in the room was far from daunted. Instead, optimism and urgency coexisted. Participants weren't there to admire the problem; they were there to dismantle it.

Agile, inventive and unburdened by bureaucracy, the SME ecosystem is both a critical enabler of CABOT and a catalyst for the future of ASW more widely. It’s one that Thales has been curating deliberately over time - connecting capabilities, nurturing relationships and creating the conditions for trust to flourish. 

A useful example is the collective effort of SMEs in supporting the Royal Navy’s Dreadnought submarines with Sonar 2076, one of the most advanced systems of its kind. Spearhead (rapid capability, development and deployment in ASW) and CUES (Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea)are also demonstrations of how bringing innovation to the front line relies on the ability to integrate and iterate quickly, backed by the flexibility and specialist knowledge that smaller suppliers bring.

The benefits are mutual. Where SMEs help larger, slower, bureaucracy-bound organisations stay sharp and responsive, these same organisations can bring scale, insight and access to elevate the efforts of SMEs and prospective partners. Decades of close customer engagement and minds full of institutional knowledge mean companies like Thales can ground the aspirations and innovations of SMEs in the current operational context, helping whole ecosystems understand not just what the problem is, but how it plays out on the front line. 

Project CABOT may be focused on a specific challenge in a specific theatre, but it’s reflective of a much broader strategic need: shoring up the UK’s defence and industrial resilience at sea, on land and in the skies - and creating and sustaining SQEP’s (Suitably Qualified and Experienced People) against the backdrop of emerging technologies. 

And of course there is a defence dividend that comes along with the SME ecosystem approach - investment in jobs and communities, localised prosperity and the associated economic benefits. 

Where plans like Readiness 2030 (previously ReArm Europe) signal demand and intent to fortify the West’s competitive edge against rising geopolitical instability, Project CABOT serves as a testbed for how the UK and its partners can deliver capability at pace and with purpose, underscored by an enterprise approach with SME mission partners deeply embedded from the outset.

Because Thales knows as well as its current and potential partners: when it comes to making sure the UK and its allies are ready, resilient and perpetually prepared, it’ll be all hands on deck.