What Prism Defence does

Prism Defence is a privately held Australian defence contractor specialising in ship-air integration, with a focus on enabling helicopters and unmanned aircraft systems to operate safely from naval vessels. Founded and headquartered in North Adelaide, South Australia, with a regional office in Emsworth, United Kingdom, the company serves government naval defence forces across at least seven countries including Australia, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand, Brunei, and Oman. Its core competency is the development of Ship-Helicopter Operating Limits (SHOL), the safety envelopes that define how and when helicopters can launch, recover, and operate from ships at sea in varying sea, weather, and airwake conditions.

The company's technical offering rests on four integrated software products — AirHub (an embarked aviation management system, formerly HeliSAFE), SHOLDS (a flight test software suite with HeliSHOLDS and ShipSHOLDS components), SHOLsmith (trial planning and analysis), and PEVS (a 3D visualisation suite) — complemented by bespoke modelling and simulation tools including DeckSAFE for ship motion limits analysis and CFD-based Airwake Analysis run on an in-house high-performance computing cluster. Software development is conducted against DO-178C, MIL-STD-882, and IEEE 12207 lifecycle standards, and the business is ISO 9001:2015 certified by LRQA, qualifying products for safety-critical naval aviation procurement.

Prism Defence generates revenue through one-time software licensing across its product suite alongside professional services revenue from SHOL trials, flight test instrumentation (FTI) design and certification, training delivered at customer premises and at sea, and consultancy for ship designers, integrators, and capability provision partners. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales with direct engagement of defence procurement departments; pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated through government procurement channels. The company has no disclosed parent, external investors, or public listing, and operates with a small specialist headcount of 11-50 employees including test pilots and flight test engineers who embed with customers on ships and aircraft.

Name

Prism Defence

Legal name

Prism Defence

Website

https://prismdefence.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Prism Defence is a private Australian defence contractor specialising in ship-air integration for naval aviation. It develops and licenses the AirHub, SHOLDS, SHOLsmith, and PEVS software suite and provides SHOL trials, flight test instrumentation, CFD analysis, and training to government navies globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Naval Aviation Software

NAICS

Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511)

SIC

Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)

akta.pro primary industry

Military Rotorcraft Platforms (IMABAMAB)

Keywords

• Ship-helicopter integration
• Naval aviation software
• Flight test software
• Defence systems engineering
• Embarked aviation management

Headquarters

HQ city

North Adelaide

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Software Products: Sale and licensing of proprietary software products including AirHub, SHOLDS, SHOLsmith, and PEVS. Products are developed in-house and used globally for ship-helicopter integration.
2. SHOL Trials and Testing Services: Full SHOL trial service from planning and conducting through to formal reporting. Includes flight test professionals working on customer ships and aircraft under operational conditions.
3. Flight Test Instrumentation (FTI): Design, manufacture, structural analysis, electrical loads analysis, installation and removal, and certification documentation for flight test instrumentation suites.
4. Training Services: Full spectrum training in embarked aviation operations including pilot deck landing qualification, ship's aviation team training, flight deck teams, emergency teams, and air controllers. Delivered at customer premises and at sea.
5. Consultancy Services: Independent operational and technical advice to ship integrators, designers and builders. Includes ship design consultancy, procurement support, and planning and conduct of complete flight test and evaluation campaigns.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Prism Defence develops and sells proprietary ship-air integration software (AirHub, SHOLDS, SHOLsmith, PEVS, DeckSAFE) and provides specialist professional services including Ship-Helicopter Operating Limits (SHOL) development, flight test instrumentation, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) airwake analysis, training, and consultancy to international naval defence forces.

Product overview

Prism Defence offers a portfolio of four integrated software products and seven supporting services for ship-air integration and embarked aviation capability. The core software suite includes AirHub (embarked aviation management system, formerly HeliSAFE), SHOLDS (integrated flight test software suite), SHOLsmith (SHOL planning and analysis tool), and PEVS (3D visualisation suite). These products work together to support the complete SHOL development lifecycle from trials planning through to operational management. Supporting services include SHOL Development, Flight Test Instrumentation, DeckSAFE (ship motion limits analysis), Airwake Analysis (CFD), Aviation Procedure Development, Ship Aviation Facilities Design support, and Training.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AirHub: Embarked Aviation Management System - streamlines management of Ship-Helicopter Operating Limits (SHOL), operational policies and procedures. Formally known as HeliSAFE.
• SHOLsmith
• SHOLDS
• PEVS
• DeckSAFE

Products and services

• AirHub Embarked Aviation Management System (formerly HeliSAFE) that streamlines management of and compliance with Ship-Helicopter Operating Limits (SHOL), operational policies and procedures for airworthiness assurance at sea. Provides real-time sensor consolidation, flying course solutions, automatic visual alerts for limit exceedances, and incident recording for naval defence forces.
• SHOLDS Ship-Helicopter Operating Limits Development System, an integrated flight test software suite enabling efficient, accurate and safe conduct of embarked flight trials. Includes HeliSHOLDS for aircraft data acquisition and ShipSHOLDS for ship data and situational awareness, with telemetry-based communication to aircraft, ship command, bridge and flight deck officer.
• SHOLsmith Software for planning, managing and developing Ship-Helicopter Operating Limits (SHOL) trials. Assists flight testers in planning, conduct, analysis and reporting of SHOL trials, producing comprehensive final reports and SHOL generation ready for authorisation before leaving the ship.
• PEVS Prism Embarked Visualisation Suite, a multifunctional 3D visualisation tool combining Prism Defence data with high-quality 3D models for assessing engineering problems, testing concepts and visualising ship-helicopter operations. Includes Obstruction Clearance, Lashing, Deck Marking, and Deck Lighting Editor modules.
• DeckSAFE Bespoke suite of modelling and simulation tools for end-to-end ship motion limits analysis, determining safe operating limits for helicopters on naval ship decks. Physics engine is fully customisable and modular, supports any helicopter-ship combination including single or multi-rotor, wheeled undercarriage or skids, and has been validated against experimental datasets.
• SHOL Development Service Full SHOL trial service from planning and conducting through to formal reporting, measuring the impact of ship airwake, motion and visual cueing on helicopter performance. Flight test professionals work on customer ships and aircraft under operational conditions.
• Flight Test Instrumentation Design, manufacture, installation and certification documentation for flight test instrumentation (FTI) suites required to acquire, display and record data parameters for SHOL development, including structural and electrical loads analysis.
• Airwake Analysis Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis service simulating ship airwakes to predict turbulence, temperatures, exhaust gas concentrations and anemometer errors over flight decks and helicopter approach paths. Uses advanced turbulence-resolving models with an in-house high-performance computing cluster.
• Embarked Aviation Operations Training Full spectrum training in embarked aviation operations covering pilot deck landing qualification, ship's aviation team training, flight deck teams, emergency teams and air controllers, delivered at customer premises and at sea.
• Aviation Procedure Development Development of bespoke embarked aviation procedures including ship-helicopter operations manuals, emergency procedures, training manuals and checklists for naval aviation customers.
• Ship Aviation Facilities Design and Certification Support Independent operational and technical consultancy for ship-helicopter integration challenges, including defining requirements, tender responses, modelling, simulation and certification support for ship integrators, designers and builders.

Quantifiable outcome

• Trial completion in minimum time with significant reduction in required sea days and flying hours
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Systematic A/S: Danish defense software house serving the Danish Defence Force with mission-critical C4 and aviation software; similar size, similar defense software specialty, and overlapping Danish customer base to Prism's Copenhagen-area naval customers.
• BMT Group: Maritime/naval engineering consultancy providing ship design support, fleet support and naval aviation integration advice. Compares directly on naval consultancy services and SHOL-adjacent ship-air integration expertise.
• QinetiQ: UK-based defense technology and test/evaluation company operating flight test ranges and naval aviation trial services. Directly comparable to Prism's SHOL trials, flight test engineering, and capability consulting for military aviation customers.
• OSI Maritime Systems: Specialist in naval integrated bridge systems, WECDIS, and maritime situational awareness software sold to defense customers. Comparable niche specialist with shore-based and embarked maritime defense software offerings.
• SENER Aeroespacial: Spanish defense engineering firm providing ship-helicopter integration engineering, FLOLS, and other naval aviation aids. Closely comparable on the systems integration and engineering services side of ship-air operations.

Broad incumbents

• Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions: Large defense electronics provider whose flight test instrumentation, data acquisition, and aerospace subsystems overlap with Prism's FTI offering; a broader incumbent that competes on the equipment side of Prism's services-plus-product portfolio.
• FlightSafety International: Premier commercial aviation training organization extending into military pilot and mission crew training. Competitor on the training revenue line, particularly pilot deck-landing qualification services that Prism delivers at customer premises.
• Babcock International: UK-headquartered defense and marine engineering services contractor providing naval fleet support and training. Overlaps with Prism's consultancy, ship aviation facilities design support, and embarked aviation training across the UK customer base.
• CAE Defense & Security: Global defense training services company with naval aviation and mission rehearsal capabilities. Overlaps with Prism's pilot deck-landing qualification, flight deck team, and emergency team training services.
• SAIC (formerly Wyle Scientific / Wyle Aerospace): Large defense integrator offering flight test engineering, airworthiness, and software certification services via its Wyle heritage. Competes with Prism on FTI design and certification documentation for defense aviation programs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/prismdefence
• Facebookfacebook.com/prism.defence
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/prism-defence

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Prism Defence