Thales Australia and Saildrone to advance autonomous long-range, persistent undersea surveillance

Thales Australia’s Thin Line Towed Array will be integrated with Saildrone’s Surveyor, the world’s largest unmanned autonomous vehicle class, announced at the Sea, Air, Space Maritime Exposition in Maryland.

Saildrone’s high-endurance Uncrewed Surface Vehicles (USV) and Thales’ BlueSentry™ Towed Array Sonar will enhance surveillance for open-ocean hydrographic surveys and maritime domain awareness (MDA) missions. The USV, equipped with Thales’ sonar, will conduct autonomous underwater ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) missions for extended periods in all weather conditions, freeing up crewed assets for other missions.

Thales’ BlueSentry™ uses acoustic sensor technology to detect, classify, and localize surface and subsurface contacts. The Towed Array, integrated on Saildrone’s Surveyor USVs, is designed and manufactured at Thales’ Acoustics Centre of Excellence in Australia, reflecting advancements in fibre optics and hydrophone technology.

Richard Jenkins, Saildrone Founder and CEO said “The Saildrone Surveyor was developed to conduct long-duration MDA missions, in remote locations. Combining the BlueSentry thin line towed array with our most capable USV provides a game-changing solution for wide-area ASW operations. Saildrone is committed to continuously delivering new advanced solutions to our defense customers, and it is wonderful to be able to add this new capability to the list of Saildrone services.”