SEACURE : a major European defence project led by Thales to prepare European navies for underwater warfare
- Within the framework of the European Defence Fund (EDF), Thales is leading the SEACURE project to achieve a sovereign European capability in future Anti-Submarine and Seabed Warfare.
- The SEACURE programme began in November 2024 for a duration of 45 months, and involves 35 European partners from 13 EU member states.
- Building on the successful completion of the EDIDP (European Defence Industrial Development Programme) SEANICE project at the end of 2023, the aim of SEACURE is to achieve a sovereign European capability in future autonomous Anti-Submarine and Seabed Warfare.
The world is facing rising tensions in many regions, with asymmetric threats and the resurgence of high-intensity operations, particularly at sea. It is the case near the borders of the European Union, in the Middle East, and the Far East. This highlights how critical it is for nations to control safety at sea and to protect their maritime infrastructures. Moreover, the exploitation of marine resources, including offshore wind farms, demands continuous monitoring to prevent malicious actions by state and non-state adversaries.
Recent events are accelerating plans throughout NATO and European countries to protect maritime infrastructure of national interest. Such plans embrace new operational theatres, and require new capabilities and new methods of operation.
The main objective of SEACURE is to develop and demonstrate at sea, by 2028, an integrated system of systems aimed at successfully performing autonomous joint Anti-Submarine Warfare and Seabed Warfare operations and protecting critical maritime infrastructure. It focuses on the detection, classification, identification and tracking of underwater threats in challenging conditions, using air, surface and underwater drones. SEACURE will offer a versatile defence system for such operations, increasing the level of autonomy, based on open, agile, modular and scalable system-of-systems architecture. In addition, it will be interoperable and ready for collaborative combat.
SEACURE not only strengthens maritime security today, but also lays the groundwork for a more resilient and cooperative global maritime future.
About SEACURE
SEACURE is proposed as a continuation of the EDIDP SEANICE research project that ended in November 2023. It offers a new way of protecting our critical maritime infrastructures, and guarantees the freedom to operate in our own waters, detecting and protecting against any external threats.
The partners are :
THALES DMS FRANCE SAS
ALSEAMAR
ATLAS ELEKTRONIK GMBH
CEIIA - CENTRO DE ENGENHARIA E DESENVOLVIMENTO (ASSOCIACAO)
DRASS GALEAZZI SRL
THALES EDISOFT PORTUGAL S.A
ESG ELEKTRONIKSYSTEM- UND LOGISTIK GMBH
ETME PEPPAS & ASSOCIATES SOCIETE ANONYME
EXAIL ROBOTICS
FEAC ENGINEERING PRIVATE COMPANY
FORSVARETS FORSKNINGINSTITUTT (FFI)
FINCANTIERI SPA
FINCANTIERI NEXTECH SPA
I.D.S. INGEGNERIA DEI SISTEMI SPA
GMVIS SKYSOFT SA
INNOVATION IN RESEARCH & ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS
KONGSBERG DISCOVERY AS
KUNGLIGA TEKNISKA HÖGSKOLAN
LEONARDO - SOCIETA PER AZIONI
NAVAL GROUP
NAVANTIA S.A.
NAXYS TECHNOLOGIES AS
PATRIA AVIATION OY
RTSYS
SAAB KOCKUMS AKTIEBOLAG
SAAB DYNAMICS AKTIEBOLAG
SAAB AKTIEBOLAG
SAIPEM S.P.A
SCHIEBEL
SIEL SRL
SOTIRIA Technology Private Company
THALES ITALIA SPA
THALES ROMANIA SRL
NEDERLANDSE ORGANISATIE VOOR TOEGEPAST NATUURWETENSCHAPPELIJK ONDERZOEK TNO
WSENSE SRL
About Thales
Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced technologies specialising in three business domains: Defence & Security, Aeronautics & Space and Cyber & Digital.
It develops products and solutions that help make the world safer, greener and more inclusive.
The Group invests close to €4 billion a year in Research & Development, particularly in key innovation areas such as AI, cybersecurity, quantum technologies, cloud technologies and 6G.
Thales has close to 81,000 employees in 68 countries. In 2023, the Group generated sales of €18.4 billion.