SEA Wins UKDI Funding in AUKUS Maritime Innovation Challenge for Underwater Acoustic Communications

Maritime June 23, 2026

SEA, part of Cohort plc, has secured a UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) funding contract through the 2025 AUKUS Maritime Innovation Challenge, one of four companies selected from a competitive multinational field to advance undersea communications and autonomous systems control capabilities across the AUKUS partnership.

The funding will be used to enhance SEA’s Underwater Acoustic Modelling Toolset with Acoustic Communications (AComms) performance prediction, enabling operators to maximise communications range and mission coverage in complex ocean environments. The toolset uses high-resolution environmental data and sophisticated acoustic modelling to optimise sensor placement and frequency selection for prevailing conditions, building on SEA’s Ambient Noise Prediction System that is already in operational use with the Royal Navy providing global ambient noise forecasts to the fleet.

The contract sits within Pillar 2 of the AUKUS agreement, the advanced capabilities strand that brings together academia and defence sectors across Australia, the UK, and the United States to develop next-generation trilateral undersea warfare and Command and Control capabilities. The specific focus of this challenge was undersea communications and autonomous systems control, two areas where assured performance in contested maritime environments is a growing operational priority across all three AUKUS nations.

Jeremy Brookes, Principal Advisor Digital Advantage C4ISR at UKDI, set out the strategic rationale: “Reliable underwater communications are critical to delivering effective situational awareness, command and control, and the operation of autonomous systems in the maritime domain.”

For the UK defence supply chain, the announcement illustrates several things worth noting. SEA is an independent specialist rather than a prime contractor, demonstrating that AUKUS innovation funding is accessible to focused SMEs with deep domain expertise. The company’s 20-year research heritage in underwater environmental modelling, combined with an existing Royal Navy operational deployment, gave it the credibility to compete successfully in a multinational programme. The contract also builds on SEA’s recent King’s Award for International Trade, recognising its export success in fleet protection and ASW capabilities across the South West manufacturing base.

For supply chain companies with genuine technical depth in niche maritime, autonomous systems, or sensing domains, the AUKUS Maritime Innovation Challenge represents a direct route into trilateral defence development funding. UKDI manages UK participation and is the entry point for companies looking to engage.