Demonstrations for defence partnerships

Sonardyne were delighted to provide the venue for the Forcys’ MAKE UK Defence event on Thursday 12^th October.

Approximately 40 guests from various defence related suppliers joined Forcys, representatives from MAKE UK Defence and Nigel ‘Frankie’ Vaughan from the Ministry of Defence, for a morning of presentations, factory tours and networking opportunities. Make UK Defence is the UK defence trade association. They support the UK’s defence manufacturers and the wider defence supply chain.

Welcoming the guests, Forcys Commercial Director Ioseba Tena outlined the many capabilities of the Covelya Group of companies and how Forcys works with them to solve their customers’ challenges.

Emphasising the subsea autonomous expertise across the companies, Ioseba highlighted the importance of underwater technology in the future of defence. Sister company Wavefront’s Sentinel intruder detection system is already the most deployed sonar detection system across the world.

Forcys is the latest addition to the Covelya group, introduced to focus on the UK, US and Australian defence markets and their unique requirements. Ioseba remarked that although they were, at present, a small team they stand beside 500 other people and a wealth of marine technology expertise across the group companies.

The underwater battlespace is becoming increasingly distributed and reliant on uncrewed underwater vehicles. Forcys is uniquely positioned to contribute to the development of a networked battlespace and the enhanced situational awareness necessary for the Royal Navy and its allies to maintain their dominance.

Ioseba Tena, Commercial Director, Forcys

Nigel ‘Frankie’ Vaughan then gave an update on behalf of the MoD on the AUKUS Pillar 2 advanced defence capabilities that are to be delivered by 2024/25. AUKUS is the UK, Australia and United States trilateral defence and security partnership to help sustain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Pillar 2 is looking to the UK marine technology industry to help deliver these capabilities.

After the presentations, guests were given guided tours of our extensive facilities at Blackbushe, including the factory and test areas where product managers were on hand to give demonstrations. The event was rounded off with the opportunity to network over an Indian street food lunch.

Reflecting on the event, Ioseba Tena commented; “The underwater battlespace is becoming increasingly distributed and reliant on uncrewed underwater vehicles. Forcys is uniquely positioned to contribute to the development of a networked battlespace and the enhanced situational awareness necessary for the Royal Navy and its allies to maintain their dominance. We recognise that collaboration is essential to achieving this goal, and we were delighted to host members of Make UK Defence, potential partners in this endeavour. We also appreciated Nigel ‘Frankie’ Vaughan’s update on AUKUS Pillar 2, an initiative we are eager to support.”