US tech company Ultra Maritime has been contracted to supply sonobuoy technologies in support of Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA), the French government’s defense procurement and technology agency.
As disclosed, the company received a multi-year award from defense company Thales and will deliver its AN/SSQ 62E DICASS and AN/SSQ 53G DIFAR sonobuoys.
DGA will procure both active and passive sonobuoys, including some of the latest technologies from Ultra Maritime’s new U.S. production lines. Together, these are expected to support anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities.
As undersea domain awareness becomes increasingly critical and submarine and uncrewed threats become more stealthy, sonobuoy performance enhancements become crucial in the naval sector.
Ultra Maritime, through Thales, will provide the Marine nationale with an enhanced ASW capability and an increased probability of detection of undersea threats, it was noted.
The company’s sonobuoys are equipped with modern battery technology, which nearly doubles the operational life of the active sonobuoys and augments their acoustic output.
Ultra Maritime will also supply G-size AN/SSQ 536G bathythermal buoys from its Canadian site in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. G-size sonobuoys deliver advanced sonobuoy technology in a more compact form, ideal for rotary wing and unmanned air vehicle (UAV) operations where minimizing payload dimensions and mass are important factors, the tech firm stated.
To remind, in February this year, Ultra Maritime received an £18 million contract from the UK Ministry of Defense (MoD) to supply sonobuoys to the Royal Navy’s Merlin maritime patrol helicopter.