UK company Voyant has demonstrated its tracking software with Thales’ S2087 sonar as part of a ministry of defense program to improve anti-submarine warfare.
The software uses probabilistic tracking and particle filters to process acoustic sensor data.
These methods estimate where an underwater contact may be and update that estimate as new data arrives.
Voyant integrated the software with the S2087 and passed its output to an AI-enabled decision-support system developed by British firm Mind Foundry.
The demonstration involved the UK Ministry of Defence, the Royal Navy, Thales UK, and Mind Foundry.
Voyant said the additional processing could help operators maintain tracks on weaker or more distant contacts, assess their classification with greater confidence and spend less time on manual analysis.
The work focused on extracting more information from the existing sonar system, without replacing its hardware.
Expanding Undersea Capabilities
The sonar demonstration comes amid wider UK investment in its submarine fleet and the systems that support it.
In July, the government announced 8.4 billion pounds ($11.2 billion) for the next phase of its four-submarine Dreadnought program.
Under the initiative, BAE Systems was set to receive 5.9 billion pounds ($7.87 billion), with the rest allocated to the wider supply chain.
The funding is intended to help the first vessel, HMS Dreadnought, complete sea trials ahead of its planned entry into Royal Navy service in the early 2030s.
In June, QinetiQ deployed 3D-printing equipment at HM Naval Base Clyde to produce submarine components on-site and reduce maintenance delays.
The company said it had previously designed and supplied replacement parts for HMS Anson in four weeks.