Thales Unveils New Coastal Surveillance System 'CoastShield'

Thales has introduced its CoastShield system, a new coastal surveillance solution designed to enhance maritime security by detecting and analyzing complex environments and abnormal behaviors that may indicate threats.

The system addresses the challenges posed by vast coastlines and dynamic maritime activities, ensuring reliable monitoring of critical infrastructures, including wind farms.

CoastShield combines a suite of complementary sensors for early detection and tracking of even small targets across a range of up to 100 nautical miles. It integrates real-time data from various subsystems, covering both surface sea levels and lower-altitude airspace. This capability provides situational awareness, enabling coastguards and maritime authorities to identify and respond to threats more effectively and efficiently, thus facilitating collaborative decision-making between civil and military entities.

A key component of the CoastShield system is the long-range CoastWatcher coastal surveillance radar, known for its strong performance under challenging conditions. The CoastWatcher includes an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver that transmits large volumes of data to the Control Centre. Additional capabilities comprise radio systems, long-range electro-optical sensors, and a video management system for managing streams, such as camera selection and recording.

The modular and scalable nature of CoastShield allows for integration of various tactical means, including drones (UAVs), sonobuoys, satellites, and other sensors as needed. The maritime Control Centre consolidates all data collected from these diverse sources to create a comprehensive and current global maritime picture. Its open architecture facilitates the integration of data from military forces' headquarters.

Equipped with a user-friendly interface, the Control Centre can also leverage artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to streamline the complex data into actionable insights, expediting the classification process necessary for decision-makers to make informed choices during critical situations.