Chelsea Technologies, Forcys, and Wavefront Systems have formally merged under the Forcys brand. This integration strengthens the new company’s ability to meet the evolving demands of the defense sector and other critical markets, while reinforcing its position as a technical leader in the provision of underwater solutions. The move reflects a continued commitment to innovation and collaboration.

The newly combined organization will bring together decades of expert engineering excellence, creating a stronger, more integrated offering for customers in defense and security, while continuing to serve blue technology sectors.

Paul Badger, CEO of Forcys, stated: “Combining the three organisations provides us with the critical mass required to deliver against a more ambitious vision. With underwater threats to our critical national infrastructure and peer adversaries that increasingly rely on autonomous platforms, we need to be ready to meet the mission head-on. We are doing exactly that.”

Building on a record-breaking period of defense deliveries, the combined Forcys team is well positioned to help the industry navigate the shift from traditional systems toward a more autonomous future. The new entity will be ideally placed to deliver integrated underwater payloads to support a range of missions from ISR to underwater intruder detection and deterrence.

Ioseba Tena, CCO of Forcys, stated: “Building on the proven defense pedigree of Chelsea Technologies and Wavefront Systems, we are integrating world-class expertise to help our customers outperform the competition by delivering increased value through our integrated underwater sensing solutions. We are confident that this is the right team at the right time to lead the next chapter of industry innovation.”

While the Forcys name will represent the new organisation, Chelsea Technologies will continue as a product brand within the new structure, retaining its long-standing reputation and presence within the blue technology sector providing specialist sensing and water quality monitoring.

This is not an acquisition. It is a coming together of three companies within the same group. The three organisations seek to amplify their impact, improve efficiencies, and better serve customers across all sectors.

At Forcys, we understand that control of the underwater battlespace depends on more than what can be seen or heard—it depends on what can be shared securely. In today’s contested maritime domain, secure, reliable underwater communication is no longer optional. It’s essential to operational success.

Unlike other military environments, the underwater domain doesn’t allow for traditional radio communications. Instead, acoustic signals, which are vulnerable to range, delay and distortion, remain the only viable method for transmitting data below the surface. Add in the complexity of real-world oceanographic conditions—such as thermoclines and salinity layers—and the challenge becomes even greater.

Despite these limitations, the underwater battlespace is becoming increasingly strategic, particularly as geopolitical tensions rise and the seabed becomes a focal point for both defense and infrastructure security. Without robust encryption and assured communication protocols, adversaries can intercept transmissions and compromise both missions and lives. The threat is real: intercepted signals could reveal the position of a submarine or disrupt command of an autonomous underwater vehicle.

This is where integrated, adaptive networks come into play. By deploying a mesh of underwater communication nodes, Forcys and our technology partners at Acousonix and Sonardyne enable navies to maintain tactical advantage while minimizing the risk of detection.

As autonomous systems such as AUVs and UUVs take on more complex roles in surveillance, mine countermeasures, and infrastructure protection, the demand for encrypted, fail-safe communication increases. These platforms operate at the edge of the battlespace and require secure, low-latency updates to perform effectively.

The ability to push edge-processed data and raw sensor information across a secure network enables real-time decision-making. This is how situational awareness becomes decision superiority. Through intelligent prioritization of data based on latency requirements, a persistent sensor network can cue additional assets onto a contact, protect high-value units, or shift strategy on the fly. This is the difference between reacting and winning.

Beyond traditional military operations, the same need for secure underwater communication applies to defending critical underwater infrastructure (CUI), conducting mine warfare and countermeasures, and securing temporary high-profile events. Whether for short-range or long-distance operations, the principle remains: without secure communication, situational awareness breaks down.

Forcys and our partners have long been at the forefront of secure underwater communications. Software-defined modems developed within this ecosystem allow rapid switching between national and allied security protocols, ensuring interoperability across NATO and coalition forces. This is essential, as future conflicts will rarely be fought alone. Secure communication is not just about technology. It’s about trust. Trust in data, in systems, in the decisions being made at speed in the most demanding environments on earth.