18 hours ago
Government awards contract to French company to develop sonar system
A government contract worth tens of millions of euro has been awarded to a French defence technology company to develop a new sonar system for Ireland.
The towed sonar capability, when attached to an Irish naval vessel, will assist the Defence Forces with monitoring subsea areas in Ireland's Exclusive Economic Zone.
It will help efforts to protect undersea communication cables and energy infrastructure, and also could assist in detecting illegal fishing, drug trafficking, terrorism and espionage in the future.
The system is part of a wider project to boost maritime surveillance due to growing threats.
The exclusive contract is with Thales DMS France, a company which specialises in advanced technologies in defence and security.
The new sonar system is set to be operational in 2027.
The Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris said the investment will provide the naval service with a "state-of-the-art system, which will enable it to build a picture of our subsea".
"It will serve as an important first step in creating a "pattern of life" in the subsea domain, with future projects further enhancing this capability" he said.
French company Thales DMS France is currently leading a major European defence initiative that aims to strengthen the continent's capabilities in anti-submarine and seabed warfare.
The SEACURE project is utilising a combination of air, surface, and underwater drones to detect and track underwater threats in challenging environments.
However, there are worries about who will operate the new capabilities due to recruitment and retention problems within the Defence Forces, including the Irish Navy.
Just one, or two, of the six vessel fleet can be out at sea due to staffing shortages.
"Given the enhanced development of the blue economy and the exclusive economic zone that Ireland has, there's huge opportunity for delivery in terms of enhanced maritime security awareness. So the people are absolutely crucial, we don't want a stranded assets" said Marie Gleeson, Retired Lieutenant Commander with the Irish Navy.
She said it is a really 'positive step forward' in terms of enhancing the navy's ability to patrol Ireland's maritime domain.
"When I was a ship's captain, you patrolled very regularly, you want to maintain a presence in this really important area and not having the ability to see what was happening underneath the surface of the ocean was a restraint in some respects. I think it is hugely important from a strategic defence capability that we have the capacity to deploy towed sonar" she added.
Ireland has one of the largest maritime Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) in the European Union.
There are extensive undersea cables, sea fishing and energy production capacity and infrastructure in the waters.
One of the biggest concerns is the safeguarding of these undersea cables which keeps everything from banking systems to TikTok operating.
Marine expert and consultant, John Paul Kearns said the introduction of the new sonar system is a long time coming.
"Once we develop our offshore wind we will have lots of pipelines and cables coming ashore and that infrastructure needs to be protected, monitored and surveyed all the time. Using this sonar and companies like Thales, and hopefully bringing it back in-house into Ireland, we can actually manage and monitor all of that" he said.
"The reason we need to monitor it is we need to ensure that for one it's not being damaged in a mischievous or malevolent way. We have to make sure it's not damaged through storm damage. We have to make sure we can survey it… Because if you think of it… ten times the size of Ireland, underwater, is most of where the threat lies for the future" he said.
In October 2024, then Tánaiste Micheál Martin said that there was a "risk" of sea cables being sabotaged following increased activity by the Russian navy and associated Russian merchant ships off the south and west coast of Ireland over the past number of years.
The location of these vessels have raised concerns that undersea cables are being mapped.
RTÉ News also reported in April that Minister for the Environment Darragh O'Brien has been warned that damage to Ireland's subsea gas interconnectors would have a catastrophic impact on the country's energy supply.
Briefing papers and studies on energy security to the minister said that Ireland is highly vulnerable to the impact of gas supply disruptions and notes that a Russian naval vessel loitered over the Gas Networks Ireland subsea interconnector last November.
Russia has denied that the presence of its military ships off the south, southwest and west coast of Ireland represent a threat.
It comes as a public consultation on Ireland's first ever maritime security strategy was launched last week.
The new strategy plans to map out Ireland's approach to maritime security and intends to look at how to deal and address emerging threats, vulnerabilities and protecting subsea infrastructure.
A new maritime security unit was set up last year at the Department of Defence to look at ways to address maritime threats and risks to Ireland.
Dr Margaret Stanley, who previously led the Office of Emergency Planning in the Defence Department and worked on peacekeeping matters at the United Nations in New York, was appointed to head the unit.
Ireland's first maritime security strategy is expected to be published before the end of the year.
