Qinetiq leads Operation Osprey

A Qinetiq-led consortium has won a three-year contract worth at least £12m to develop underwater sensing technology for the MoD.

Known as Osprey, the project will work on the core technologies needed to underpin the next generation of sub-sea sensor systems for the UK military.

Osprey consists of 17 industrial partners and academic organisations including Thales UK, Systems Engineering Assessment (SEA) and UCL. It was established following an MoD competition, and has an option to extend the contract for a further two years.

Value for money

Ian Prescott, managing director of Qinetiq’s sea division, said: ‘The consortium includes SMEs covering a range of world-leading niche capabilities and major equipment suppliers. The collaborative approach to research within the consortium is certain to give the MoD unparalleled value for money, and the Royal Navy the technological edge for its future underwater sensors.’

The technology developed by the Osprey team will span the entire range of underwater applications, from acoustic and non-acoustic sensing, anti-submarine warfare and mine countermeasures to detection, classification and localisation and data fusion technology.