Thales, Saildrone pitch a windsurfing fleet of submarine spotters
MILAN — Thales Australia has partnered with Saildrone to integrate a towed array sonar system with the Surveyor unmanned surface vessel, promising navies the ability to pinpoint underwater threats through silent operation.
The companies' tie-up follows sea trials, funded by the United States Office of Naval Research, during which Saildrone's Surveyor USV, equipped with Thales' BlueSentry sensor package, operated almost uninterrupted for 26 days.
Conducted off the coast of California, the tests demonstrated that the systems detected and classified underwater and surface threats, with an uptime averaging more than 96%, according to Saildrone.
In the context of underwater drones, the notion of 'uptime' generally refers to the percentage of time the system is available and able to perform its intended missions continuously.
'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,' a Saildrone press release stated.
A fleet of USVs, integrated with these sonar arrays, is intended to be able to operate for extended periods of time, autonomously patrolling large ocean areas and reduce the costs of coverage, per the Thales website.
The companies said that the team-up could pave the way for greater 'naval interoperability' between the trilateral AUKUS partners – Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States – and deliver on the security partnership's technology-focused Pillar 2 scope. That line of work is intended to harness the joint industrial and innovation bases of the three countries to ensure that their respective militaries are equipped with advanced and interoperable capabilities.
While during the trials the systems relied on Starlink and Iridium satellite communications, Saildrone recently announced a GPS-denied option not reliant on satellites.
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Learn more at Forward Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" that are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release may be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "contemplate," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "seek," "may," "might," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "target," "aim," "should," "will" "would," or the negative of these words or other similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements are based on Red Cat Holdings, Inc.'s current expectations and are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Further, certain forward-looking statements are based on assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. These and other risks and uncertainties are described more fully in the section titled "Risk Factors" in the Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 27, 2023. Forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are made as of this date, and Red Cat Holdings, Inc. undertakes no duty to update such information except as required under applicable law. Contact: INVESTORS: E-mail: Investors@ NEWS MEDIA: Phone: (347) 880-2895Email: peter@ in to access your portfolio
