The British company Voyant has proved that modern software can unlock much greater potential of already deployed sonar systems. The work was carried out as part of the British Ministry of Defense's anti-submarine defense enhancement program. According to Naval News, the key idea of the approach is not to change the hardware, but to improve the quality of data processing collected by existing sensors.
Together with the Ministry of Defense, the Royal Navy, Thales UK and Mind Foundry, the company integrated its own probabilistic tracking software based on particle filters (sequential Monte Carlo method) with the Thales S2087 sonar system. This improved the use of acoustic data and provided more extensive information for the Mind Foundry decision support system powered by artificial intelligence. As a result, operators got a clearer operational picture, tracked targets with more confidence, and made informed decisions faster.
Search for underwater threats
Voyant
The Voyant software solution does not replace existing equipment, but is integrated into deployed sensor systems. It increases detection efficiency, improves tracking of weaker and more remote objects, and increases confidence in target classification. These tasks are automated, which reduces the burden on operators and transmits information with a higher degree of reliability to subsequent decision support applications.
According to Voyant, the continuous interaction of the Ministry of Defense, the Royal Navy and industrial partners ensured that the technology was developed in accordance with operational requirements while maintaining compatibility with existing defense systems.
"Modern sonar systems already collect more information than traditional processing methods are able to fully utilize. Our software is designed to uncover this additional information and allow operators to detect, track, and understand underwater threats with greater confidence without having to replace existing equipment," said Voyant CEO James Norwood. – Such important projects demonstrate the power of cooperation between government, industry and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises. By combining advanced sensors with AI-powered decision support, we can deliver solutions that enhance operational efficiency, reduce risk, and accelerate the development of future capabilities."
Voyant is a British defense technology startup founded by graduates from the University of Liverpool. The company is based on the research of Professor Simon Maskell, its scientific supervisor and a leading expert in the field of probabilistic tracking and Bayesian inference (a statistical analysis method in which new data or observations are used to consistently refine and change the probability that a hypothesis is true).
The company develops software to enhance the "intelligence" of military platforms and sensors. Key areas: radars and sonar, electronic warfare, cyber operations.
James Norwood, who took over Voyant in 2026, is a former officer of the Royal Navy of Great Britain, who previously held senior positions at Raytheon and Babcock. The Technical Director is Lyudmila Vladimirov, Doctor of Sciences.
