Seven Spanish companies are advancing the SIPRIS project, which will combine artificial intelligence, robotics and fiber-optic sensors to protect critical infrastructure beneath the sea. The Aragon-based company will contribute technology capable of detecting acoustic disturbances over tens of kilometers.
Zaragoza-based Aragon Photonics will help develop a Spanish system for monitoring and protecting submarine infrastructure alongside Indra and five other technology companies. The alliance, formalized on November 4 at the Euronaval 2026 international trade show in Paris, brings together artificial intelligence, robotics, acoustic sensors and communications capabilities to improve threat detection in the maritime environment.
The project, known as SIPRIS, was established through a memorandum of understanding signed by Indra, SAES, UTEK, Aragon Photonics, Iqua Robotics, FYLA and Sateliot. The companies will work to integrate their respective technologies to build a system capable of monitoring the area between the sea surface and the seabed, where infrastructure vital to communications and energy supply is located.
The Aragon-based company’s role has a specific technological focus. Aragon Photonics will contribute its expertise in fiber-optic distributed acoustic sensing, a technology that can identify vibrations and disturbances over long distances by using the fiber itself as the sensing element.
Technology developed in Zaragoza to monitor the seabed
Founded in 2004 and specializing in photonic instrumentation, Aragon Photonics develops and manufactures equipment capable of turning fiber-optic networks into distributed sensing systems. Its solutions include HDAS (High-Fidelity Distributed Acoustic Sensor), based on patented high-fidelity acoustic sensing technology.
Its operation makes it possible to record acoustic variations at different points along a fiber-optic infrastructure without installing separate sensors throughout its entire length. Applied to submarine cables, this capability helps identify events that may indicate activity near the installations being monitored.
In the SIPRIS project, the Zaragoza-based company’s technology will be used to detect acoustic events in submarine communications networks over tens of kilometers. The data collected can be combined with information from other sensors and surveillance platforms to build a more complete picture of the environment.
Aragon Photonics already has a track record in this field. In January 2026, company representatives took part in a session in Brussels convened by the European Defence Agency to present its distributed sensing capabilities under the European Critical Seabed Infrastructure Protection (CSIP) initiative. The company explained how its technology could use already-deployed fiber optics to detect anomalies and potential threats to submarine installations.
This background places its entry into SIPRIS within a business strategy that had already begun exploring defense and critical-infrastructure protection applications at the European level.
Seven companies to integrate sensors, drones and artificial intelligence
Indra will coordinate the project and define its technological architecture. The company will use its SEADEF family of naval mission systems and the IndraMind platform, designed to process and exploit information through artificial intelligence. It will also contribute unmanned aerial vehicle and communications management capabilities.
The other companies will develop complementary functions. SAES will incorporate its underwater acoustics and sonar-processing systems, while UTEK will work on autonomous surface vehicles capable of expanding surveillance and inspection areas. Iqua Robotics will handle the unmanned underwater vehicles intended to directly examine infrastructure and detect anomalies.
FYLA will provide underwater optical communications technologies to facilitate information sharing among equipment deployed underwater. Sateliot, meanwhile, will contribute satellite communications and information systems to expand operational coverage.
The aim is for these technologies to operate in a coordinated manner. Sensors would identify activity or disturbances, autonomous vehicles would carry out reconnaissance and inspection tasks, and artificial-intelligence systems would support the joint analysis of the data collected.
The alliance remains at an early stage. The memorandum establishes a framework for collaboration to move toward operational demonstrations and integration and validation activities before any eventual commercialization. Indra has also said SIPRIS will remain open to new companies and technology centers that can contribute additional capabilities.
Europe strengthens protection of submarine cables
The initiative comes at a time when the security of submarine infrastructure is becoming increasingly prominent in European defense and technological-resilience policies. Telecommunications cables laid beneath the oceans carry about 99% of intercontinental internet traffic, according to the European Commission. They are complemented by submarine power connections, which are essential for energy exchanges between countries and for connecting offshore renewable-energy facilities.
Incidents recorded in recent years have prompted the European Union to pursue new prevention, surveillance and response measures. In February 2025, the Commission presented a specific action plan to improve the security of submarine cables, followed by new measures announced in February 2026, including an allocation of €347 million for strategic projects related to this infrastructure.
The development of SIPRIS is part of this broader focus on maritime security and the need for European technologies to monitor critical infrastructure.
For Aragon Photonics, participation will allow it to apply its fiber-optics expertise to an industrial project bringing together companies from different technological fields. The signing of the memorandum opens a phase of joint development, with the next goal being to demonstrate that the systems of the seven companies can operate in an integrated manner.
