Thales Develops Experimental Sonar to Help Racing Trimaran Avoid Whale Collisions

By Public Technologies
  • Thales developed a sonar system with MerConcept for the SVR-Lazartigue trimaran to help prevent collisions with marine mammals.
  • The system autonomously detects marine mammals and unidentified floating objects in real time, alerting the skipper early enough to change course.
  • Tests were promising, but the technology remains experimental and needs further work to establish reliability in real-world conditions.
  • Tom Laperche will test the system during the 2026 Route du Rhum in what the partners describe as a world first.
  • Kresk Développement committed several million euros to the project, deciding in 2024 to fund development.


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