For more than 40 years, OSI Maritime has established itself as a global leader in integrated navigation and tactical solutions for submarines and surface vessels, shaping how navies operate beneath the surface. For them, innovation is more than just a slogan; it’s a commitment. Their systems provide mission-critical awareness, integration, safety, and decision-support across more than 20 naval customers worldwide.

As a long-standing exhibitor at UDT, the company views the event as a forum that consistently delivers technical depth, stakeholder access, and insight into the future of underwater operations. They have returned year after year, explaining how “UDT has consistently brought together specialists in the field where safe navigation is a critical aspect of underwater operations.” For OSI, this platform for knowledge exchange serves a strategic purpose that supports both innovation and global engagement.

A Conference That Deepens Understanding

The UDT Conference is a central component of the event, providing a platform for knowledge exchange, technical debate, and professional development across the undersea defence community. Through presentations, technical papers, and expert-led discussions, the conference enables attendees to explore emerging challenges, share operational insight, and learn from perspectives spanning industry, research, and defence.

For exhibitors and attendees alike, the conference supports deeper understanding beyond the exhibition floor - creating space for reflection, discussion, and collaboration on the complexities of underwater operations. Plus, an exclusive opportunity to connect with industry professionals, market leaders and influences across the undersea defence world.

In 2025, OSI strengthened its relationship with UDT further when Senior Engineer Nancy Setchell delivered a conference. Her experience underscored the value of the conference not only as a speaking platform, but as an opportunity for shared learning.

She explained that “UDT is important to attend because in listening to the speakers, you gain a better understanding of the challenges faced in areas you may not have considered.  Underwater defence is so challenging, and it is inspiring to be around people who take it so seriously.”

A Long-Term Exhibitor in an Evolving Sector

Unlike first-time exhibitors, OSI arrived at UDT with established customer relationships and a mature portfolio of integrated submarine navigation and tactical solutions. Their systems sit at the heart of underwater operations: integrating sonar, navigation, situational awareness, tactical data, routing, and safety functions into unified displays designed for high-pressure environments. With tactical dived navigation as a core element of OSI’s expertise, UDT aligns perfectly with their objectives by providing a platform to showcase and discuss their advancements.

In a sector where integration, cybersecurity, autonomy, and multi-domain data fusion are rapidly evolving, the need for collaborative innovation has never been greater. OSI sees UDT as “one of the few exhibitions and conferences focused on this challenging sector that brings together the military, industry and research communities together to discuss and explore this unique environment, and as the provider of ECPINS, the de facto WECDIS of NATO & Allied Europe, the combination makes UDT an excellent fit.”

It remains one of the few events globally where underwater technologies are the sole focus, and the OSI team consistently highlights the value of engaging with an audience deeply familiar with the operational challenges of subsurface navigation.

Reinforcing Technical Relationships

Beyond the conference halls, UDT continues to serve as a vital space for OSI to connect with potential partner and customers and maintain long-term relationships. UDT’s concentrated, high-competence audience enables OSI to conduct deep technical discussions, often focusing on:

• navigation system integration with new submarine classes
• interoperability across allied fleets
• cyber-secure navigation architectures
• compatibility with unmanned underwater systems
• software updates, lifecycle support, and mission-specific configurations

These conversations often take place within the context of NATO and allied naval operations, where interoperability, standardisation, and shared situational awareness are critical. For OSI, engaging directly with representatives from multiple allied navies and industry partners reinforces the importance of collaboration in delivering safe, reliable navigation capability.

Additionally, networking plays a significant role. Informal exchanges with engineers, operators, researchers, and procurement officials often lead to insights that are difficult to obtain elsewhere. Following their 2025 attendance, the OSI team noted that “numerous conversations have led to significant opportunities. With current trends, we anticipate OSI’s autonomy capabilities - integrated within the tactical powerhouse of the ECPINS environment - will be highly topical and generate further engagement.”

This blend of commercial return and knowledge-driven value reinforces why UDT remains central to OSI’s annual global engagement strategy.

Hence, from OSI’s perspective, companies considering UDT should approach the event with curiosity, openness, and a willingness to engage at a deep technical level. Only those who engage fully with the conference, contribute specialist insight, and embrace the event’s engineering focus will find UDT particularly valuable.

Their own continued commitment to UDT demonstrates the importance of sustained technical engagement within the underwater domain. As underwater threats evolve and new maritime technologies emerge, UDT’s combination of exhibition and conference remains a unique, high-value platform for shaping the future.