SAES's Director of Strategy, Innovation, and Sustainability, Sara García, presented the company's new Center of Excellence for Underwater Technologies at FEINDEF 25.
This is an initiative by the company, which, with more than 35 years of experience developing sonars, mine countermeasures, underwater communications, and more, seeks to create an environment in which to combine efforts across multiple sectors, working on key developments in this field. Among the broad projects, the main areas of work are the development of applications for underwater vehicles and the anticipation of new threats and scenarios, such as those in deep waters or dealing with autonomous underwater vehicles.
The Center will continue to work in the areas of underwater communications, low detectability and control of naval mine countermeasures, and the incorporation of 4.0 technologies and dual applications.
Agreement with Indra
Indra and SAES signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday at FEINDEF 25 to collaborate in the areas of infrastructure protection, acoustic systems, and simulation. The agreement was signed by Ángel Escribano, CEO of Indra Group; Javier Mármol, President of SAES; and César Solano, CEO of SAES.
Ángel Escribano stated that "Indra is committed to strengthening collaboration and joint work with Spanish industry to develop cutting-edge solutions that ensure the sovereignty and strategic autonomy of our Armed Forces and allies and allow us to compete at the highest level worldwide." Javier Mármol emphasized that "SAES is a highly specialized company in underwater acoustics and multi-influence that supplies advanced systems for the Navy and believes in collaboration as the key to open, more agile, and efficient innovation."
Both companies are strengthening ties at a time when the need to ensure free access to shipping routes, the protection of communications and energy infrastructure at sea, and port security continues to increase. They are also preparing to support the Navy in fulfilling its Vision 2050, which establishes as one of its pillars the maintenance of the fleet at the technological forefront to adapt to an increasingly complex and volatile global environment.
Indra is working in this regard on key European R&D projects, such as SMAUG (Smart Maritime and Underwater Guardian), which combines the use of intelligence and advanced algorithms with the use of various acoustic sensors and drones to strengthen port security. The company has also equipped the Navy's most advanced ships with electronic defense systems, radars, and communication systems, which it also exports worldwide and which are used by the most advanced navies. Currently, it is enhancing the capabilities of its solutions with its IndraMind intelligence platform and preparing them for operation in highly digitalized and collaborative combat theaters.
SAES has also signed an agreement with Thales DMS for the integration of the Sonoflash sonobuoy into the SAES SPAS (Sonobuoy Acoustic Processor System) and unveiled Ocean Sentinel, a smart buoy system for Maritime Security and Defense, developed in collaboration with the Spanish company Satlink. It will soon be tested during NATO's REPMUS 2025 exercises in Portugal, in close collaboration with the Portuguese Navy.
