Thales Australia and Saildrone announce successful integration of the Thales Blue Sentry array and Saildrone’s uncrewed systems. A potent new national security capability, now proven at sea
- Thales Australia’s BlueSentry thin-line towed sonar array has been successfully integrated into Saildrone’s Surveyor-class Uncrewed Surface Vehicle (USV), demonstrating exceptional operational performance during a weeks-long mission conducted off the United States.
- Saildrone successfully and autonomously supported a towed array capable of waging long-range Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions and Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), with the ability to detect and classify both Underwater Vehicles , and surface vessels in real time.
- The Thales Australia partnership with U.S company Saildrone, and the new ready-to-deploy capability, mark 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.
The successful trial, funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research, has advanced an AUKUS-aligned partnership that could boost the national security of Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom.
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 by maritime security partners. 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.
The system showed an ability to detect and track surface vessels, submarines and UUVs.
These capabilities, which can be effective in remote waters off the Australian coast, can also deliver on AUKUS Pillar 2 Undersea Warfare needs.
Saildrone’s Surveyor-class is a long-range, persistent autonomous maritime-domain awareness solution that harnesses wind and solar power while incorporating advanced communications technology and high-performance sensors.
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 world-class 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.
Saildrone and Thales Australia are 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.
Quotes attributable to Jeff Connolly, CEO, Thales Australia and New Zealand:
“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.”
“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 successful test has proven the new system’s ready-to-deploy capabilities which can be used to detect drug trafficking, enemy submarines or even people smuggling vessels in difficult to monitor areas, offering a powerful capability and real time identification and tracking for both military and government customers.”
Quote attributable to Richard Jenkins, founder and CEO of Saildrone:
“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,” said Richard Jenkins, founder and CEO of Saildrone. “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.”
Stills and video can be found here.
About Thales Australia
Thales in Australia is a trusted partner of the Australian Defence Force in the Land, Sea and Air environment. Thales employs over 4,300 people in Australia, across 35 sites and supports over 2,000 jobs along its Australian supply chain. Drawing on over 50 years of Australian Towed Array investment and development, Thales’s BlueSentry utilises acoustic sensor technology trusted by navies around the world to detect, classify, and localise surface and sub-surface contacts.
The BlueSentry towed array integrated on Saildrone Surveyor USVs, designed and manufactured at Thales’s Acoustics Centre of Excellence in Rydalmere, Australia, reflects recent innovations in the field of fibre optics and advanced hydrophone technology.
About Saildrone
Saildrone is a maritime defense and oceanographic survey company creating a paradigm shift in how navies, law enforcement, civil government, and commercial organizations obtain the real-time, accurate data required to monitor and protect our oceans. Saildrone’s fleet of uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs) carries purpose-built payloads supporting border protection, critical infrastructure security, hydrographic survey, offshore energy, and metocean monitoring. Powered by renewable wind and solar energy, Saildrone USVs provide long-duration operations measured in months, not days. Proprietary software applications and machine learning technology transform collected data into actionable insights and intelligence. Saildrone has sailed more than 1,600,000 nautical miles from the High North to the Southern Ocean and spent over 46,000 days at sea in the harshest ocean conditions on the planet.