Visionary Machines’ Pandion™ Sentinel
The companies have signed a contract to combine Visionary Machines’ passive drone detection, classification and ranging capabilities with Thales’ wide-area IR sensor hardware, laying the groundwork for next-generation passive C-UAS.
This follows a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed at the Farnborough International Airshow in July 2026, where Visionary Machines and Thales agreed to explore collaboration in passive counter-drone sensing technologies.
Under the contract, the companies will conduct preliminary integration of Visionary Machines’ Pandion™ Sentinel software with a range of Thales IR camera systems. The goal is to assess technical feasibility, interface requirements, and indicative system-level performance in controlled trial conditions.
The partnership will also help determine the suitability of the combined solution for defence and security applications, particularly in scenarios where passive C-UAS sensing is required.
“The initial phase could open the door to further collaboration, highlighting the potential to improve passive drone detection against evolving threats in combat and critical infrastructure environments”. He added, “the outcomes will inform future development and deployment decisions”.
Sonny Foster Chief Executive Officer Visionary Machines
“The project was a great example of the Global Supply Chain Program bringing together an innovative Australian SME with the broader Thales Group, combining Visionary Machines’ drone search, detection and classification software with Thales’ IR sensor technology to strengthen passive C-UAS capability”.
Anne Munro, Industry Exports Director, Thales in Australia
“The developmental C-UAS work being undertaken by each company was complementary and the on-going collaboration would potentially reduce the time to a completely passive capability deployment”.
John McDonald, Strategy Director Thales in the UK
Visionary Machines is an Australian software and sensing company focused on passive counter-drone detection and situational awareness technologies for defence, security and critical infrastructure applications.
PandionTM Sentinel is a passive optical platform that detects, tracks and classifies radio frequency-operated drones, autonomous drones and “dark drones” without emitting a signal, making it electronically silent and undetectable, unlike conventional sensor systems. The platform is hardware agnostic, allowing it to integrate with complementary technologies, such as Thales' hardware, to expand surveillance coverage with a high degree of stealth.
Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced technologies for the Defence, Aerospace, and Cyber & Digital sectors. Its portfolio of innovative products and services helps address several major challenges: sovereignty, security, sustainability and inclusion.
The Group allocates €4.5 billion per year in Research & Development in key areas, particularly for critical environments, such as Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Quantum and Cloud technologies.
Thales has more than 85,000 employees in 65 countries. In 2025, the Group generated sales of €22.1 billion.
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