BOMA 2026: Forcys Sentinel detection system used to test Portuguese SOF divers

Image of Forcys' operational picture of the sonar active and passive tracking represented by a white dotted line during Vigenette 3 of BOMA 2026 on 11 September 2026. (Janes/Tamara Rozouvan)

UK-based Forcys provided its Sentinel intruder detection sonar (IDS) for Vignette 3, called Defeat the Machine, of NATO's Bold Machina 2026 exercise taking place 7-15 September at the Lisbon Naval Base, in Alfeite, Portugal.

The Sentinel IDS, which includes an active and passive sonar, was tasked with detecting and tracking Portuguese Special Operations Forces -SOF (Força de Operações Especiais- FOE) divers and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) as part of the vignette. “The divers will get underwater and go straight to target. They will place a demo charge. If it was a real scenario, they would be coming from outside the harbour,” a Portuguese SOF officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said during the demonstration.

Sentinel IDS

The Sentinel IDS has the capability to detect divers at up to 1,000 m and UUVs at up to 1,500 m, according to a Forcys specification document. For UUVs between 20-25 m in length, the detection range would be over 1,000 m, according to Simon Goldsworthy, global business development manager at Forcys. Hundreds of targets can be tracked and classified simultaneously, according to the specification document. “We have algorithms that determine whether it's a UUV, a small delivery vehicle, or a diver,” Goldsworthy told Janes on 11 September. “We don't have a threat library. The system won't be able to tell you whether it is a Russian UUV or a Korean one,” Justin Hains, business development manager at Forcys, added.