Wavefront Systems has unveiled its new mobile underwater security unit, integrating the Sentinel IDS® (Intruder Detection Sonar) into a ruggedized, self-contained Expeditionary Trailer to deliver rapid and highly effective underwater surveillance wherever required.
The Sentinel IDS® Expeditionary Trailer is designed to safeguard a wide range of assets with a waterside approach, whether in an ocean, lake, river, or reservoir. These assets include commercial ports, critical national infrastructure, remote naval bases, and private residences.
Built on a field-proven military platform known for its robustness and reliability in demanding environments, the trailer’s self-contained design enables personnel to quickly establish an underwater threat detection perimeter in off-grid locations lacking local infrastructure. The Sentinel IDS® Expeditionary Trailer addresses the increasing global demand for effective and easily deployable security measures.
Sentinel IDS
Sentinel is one of the most widely deployed IDS systems, designed to protect vessels and facilities from underwater threats. These threats include uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) attacks and divers attempting to access a site while potentially concealing explosives or contraband.
Sentinel employs a combination of simultaneous active and passive sonar techniques to monitor underwater environments, detecting, classifying, and tracking potential threats at ranges of up to 1,500 meters for drones and 1,000 meters for divers, depending on local conditions.
Patented software algorithms intelligently filter out a wide range of marine elements, including debris, fish, and mammals, significantly reducing false alarms and allowing security teams to focus on legitimate threats.
Sentinel Expeditionary Trailer
The launch of the Sentinel Expeditionary Trailer offers users an all-in-one solution that can be towed to a location, set up, and begin monitoring the underwater domain in as little as 20 minutes.
The trailer is equipped with onboard batteries and a generator, air conditioning (for both cooling and heating), a wireless mesh network, and Sentinel command-and-control processing, storage, and wiring. It provides a small crew with all the necessary resources to operate autonomously in remote and challenging locations for extended periods, regardless of ambient temperature.
Recognizing that large sites often require extensive coverage, Sentinel IDS is frequently deployed in networked configurations with multiple sonar heads positioned on the seafloor. The Expeditionary Trailer seamlessly supports this capability with a telescopic communications mast, allowing up to 10 trailers to be connected in a mesh network.
Once networked, any trailer can act as the master controller displaying all Sentinel information or securely connecting back to a central command-and-control location. The mast also supports additional hardware options, including high-resolution cameras, floodlights, and loudhailers, creating a comprehensive, multi-layered security solution.
The trailer can be operated in three ways:
- Attended mode – A person operates it using the onboard monitor and keyboard.
- Local mode – The supplied rugged laptop and 100m cable allow operation for convenience or covert use.
- Unattended mode – After setup, the trailer is left to operate autonomously, communicating wirelessly with other trailers or a dedicated command position.
Simon Goldsworthy, Global Business Development Manager at Wavefront, commented, “The ability to rapidly deploy a robust and scalable underwater surveillance system to protect ports, energy infrastructure and industrial sites is essential in today’s heightened security environment. The Expeditionary Trailer provides that capability, offering superior, ‘go-anywhere’ and uninterrupted protection. It’s another example of Wavefront listening to our customer needs and supplying relevant and world-leading products.”
Justin Hains at Forcys, Wavefront’s defense sales partner, added, “For defence applications, the mobility and rapid deployment capability of this system will address the urgent operational requirements we’re seeing from the sector. The Expeditionary Trailer is a compelling offering; Sentinel is unmatched in performance and reliability and now it comes in a package that can be sent anywhere, to protect anything – from a carrier strike group visiting an overseas port to defending a temporary operating base in contested territory.”
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