The risk of ports and shipping coming under attack from divers has prompted the development of underwater sonar detection equipment.

Nicknamed "the Blue Easter Egg", the new sonar detection system can detect a diver at 700m. It was developed by defence research scientists at QinetiQ, formerly the government's Defence Evaluation and Research Agency.

The units - official name Cerberus - are designed to be mobile and can be carried and deployed over the side of ships and will detect the approach of divers from any direction. A number of units combined can provide protection for a wide area such as a harbour entrance.

"The threat posed to shipping and infrastructure by divers is not a new one. The sinking of HMS Valiant and HMS Queen Elizabeth in Alexandria harbour in 1941 by six Italian divers put back the Allies' efforts in the Mediterranean by as much as nine months. Today, a single terrorist diver equipped with a low-cost and low-tech payload could cause huge loss of life and significant military or economic disruption." said QinetiQ's John Riddle.

The US Navy currently use trained dolphins and sealions to help detect approaching divers.

The Cerberus unit works by using high definition sonar imaging techniques together with a high-resolution 100kHz wideband active search sonar. In other words, it's like a fish-finder on a dive boat, but massively more accurate and powerful, and it works in 360 degrees.

If the unit becomes available for recreational diving, it could allow a skipper to monitor the position of divers throughout a dive.


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QinetiQ website


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