Compact FLASH
Thales dipping sonar adapted for uncrewed surface vessel deployment.
Compact FLASH is Thales Underwater Systems France's dipping sonar, adapted from 4 August 2026 for uncrewed surface vessel deployment on the Dutch-Belgian anti-submarine warfare drone programme.
Last refreshed: 12 August 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Can a sonar built for helicopters really be adapted to hang off a robot boat?
Timeline for Compact FLASH
The Dutch put the sonar on the robot
Autonomous Systems: Land & SeaBackground
Compact FLASH is a dipping sonar built by Thales Underwater Systems France. A dipping sonar is lowered into the water to emit a pulse and listen for the echo, normally deployed from a hovering helicopter or a stationary crewed ship.
The Dutch Ministry of Defence authorised an adapted version for uncrewed 12-metre surface vessels on 4 August 2026, fitting it to boats built by the USV Alliance for the Dutch-Belgian frigate programme.
Reporting has not detailed how the adaptation handles the different deployment physics of an uncrewed hull versus a hovering helicopter or a stationary ship, a gap that will matter once the sonar is fitted to the USV Alliance's 12-metre hulls.
