Long-range undersea surveillance is critical to Australia’s security.

Wide area surveillance of the oceans requires a diversity of solutions. In July 2017, Ron Allum Deep Sea Services (RADS) was awarded an AU$3.17 million Defence contract to explore the feasibility of a novel, high-performance glider for long-endurance, undersea surveillance. As one of Australia’s highly innovative SMEs, RADS offers a range of products and services specialising in systems capable of operating at extreme ocean depths. RADS technologies include: a complete, scalable energy system for vehicles, thruster motors, pressure tolerant brushless direct current (DC) motors, and structural syntactic foam built from hollow glass microspheres and fibres suspended in an epoxy resin for multiple maritime applications allowing complex shapes that do not crack or distort under extreme hydrostatic pressure.