Thales Australia has opened a new sonar manufacturing facility in Rydalmere, Western Sydney, to support the design, production, integration and sustainment of undersea acoustic systems.
The facility was jointly funded by Thales Australia and the Commonwealth of Australia and will support the supply chain for the towed-array sonar system used on the Royal Australian Navy’s Hunter-class frigates.
Thales Australia and the Commonwealth of Australia jointly invested in the multimillion-dollar facility at Rydalmere, which has been built within the wider Thales Australia Acoustics Centre of Excellence.
According to Thales, the hall is 100 metres long and is designed to facilitate the end-to-end manufacture of towed array sonar systems that act as the ‘ears’ of submarines, surface ships and autonomous maritime systems.
The Rydalmere facility has supported the Royal Australian Navy’s sonar requirements for more than 30 years, providing technologies for anti-submarine warfare (ASW), maritime surveillance and undersea domain awareness, including for the Collins-class submarines.
The new facility will boost this Australian-made deterrence by ensuring end-to-end sovereign manufacturing capability for next-generation towed array sonar systems that support submarines and surface combatants, and thin-line towed arrays for uncrewed maritime systems serving both Australian and export markets.
In particular, the towed array facility will deliver:
- Hunter-Class Frigate Program towed array sonars enabling long-range submarine detection and tracking while enhancing fleet survivability and maritime domain awareness.
- Collins-class submarine sonar system, built upon more than 35 years of collaboration between Thales Australia, the Royal Australian Navy and Australian defence science organisations.
- BlueSentry, a next-generation autonomous surveillance capability which combines advanced thin-line fibre-optic towed array sonar technology with uncrewed maritime platforms.
“Through this new co-invested manufacturing facility, Australia is strengthening national security, creating high-value jobs and establishing a sovereign centre of excellence for advanced acoustic systems that will support both Australian Defence and export opportunities for decades to come," Pat Conroy, Minister for Defense Industry, said.
"The capabilities developed and manufactured at Rydalmere demonstrate Australia's ability to deliver sovereign undersea warfare technology, from the Collins Class submarine fleet of today to the Hunter Class frigates and autonomous BlueSentry surveillance systems of the future," Jeff Connolly, CEO, Thales Australia and New Zealand, stated.