Thales Underwater Systems - Sonar Systems

Thales is a world leader in the application of advanced technologies to meet customers' underwater mission requirements. The group demonstrates this leadership in all fields of submarine sonar systems, anti-submarine warfare and mine countermeasures, with an unrivalled customer base, and technologies, which evolve to meet the changing operational environment.

SUBMARINE SONAR SYSTEMS

Working in partnership with shipyards and prime contract organisations world-wide, Thales Underwater Systems has installed sonar systems aboard more than 140 conventional and nuclear-powered submarines operating with 23 navies - including two who depend on Thales sonars for the integrity of their submerged nuclear deterrent. This pedigree includes wide aperture planar flank arrays, low frequency towed arrays, intercept arrays and obstacle avoidance sonars.

Our experience in materials technology, signal and data processing, platform isolation, advanced beamforming techniques and user-friendly operator interfaces is now underpinning the development of a new generation of integrated sonar suites offering outstanding detection performance against the quietest adversaries.

The new generation S-Cube submarine sonar system migrates proven functionality to a COTS-based open system architecture, offering customers a totally new approach to a through-life sonar solution.

ANTI-SUBMARINE WARFARE SURFACE SHIP SYSTEMS

As the developer of the world's first operational active very low frequency sonar system, Thales Underwater Systems has captured the wealth of its active and passive sonar experience in the design and development of the CAPTAS family of variable depth sonars.

Advanced signal and data processing techniques allow CAPTAS to deliver tactically significant detection ranges and low false alarm rates even in the noisy shallow waters of the littoral. The new Low Frequency Active VDS CAPTAS Nano provides a compact system solution for long ASW detection range to a wide range of surface combatants (as little as 400t).

This expertise in surface ship systems has also been applied to torpedo defence. Our Sea Defender system will provide Royal Australian Navy warships with an autonomous torpedo alert system providing long-range detection, fully automatic classification, left / right bearing discrimination and integration with defensive countermeasures.

In addition to surface ship sonars, Thales Underwater Systems has gained a large experience in the development and production of homing / acoustic heads for heavyweight and lightweight torpedoes with more than 2,000 units delivered over the past 40 years.

AIRBORNE ACOUSTIC SYSTEMS

Building on decades of expertise in airborne acoustic systems for both anti-submarine helicopters and maritime patrol aircraft, Thales has established an unrivalled depth of experience in active dipping sonar, active and passive sonobuoys, and advanced sonics processing.

Our latest FLASH active dipping sonar has shown its ability to detect and localise difficult submarine targets in shallow water, overcoming the reverberation effects and high false alarm rates traditionally associated with operations in the littoral environment.

Our passive sonobuoy capability is demonstrated by the AN/SSQ-801B, the latest and most advanced development in BARRA buoys. We are also developing the next-generation RASSPUTIN low frequency active sonobuoy, which has already shown outstanding potential as part of a multistatic processing system

TMS 2000 is our latest generation of scaleable sonobuoy processors, capable of processing inputs from between four and 32 sonobuoys, including all NATO sonobuoys.

MINE COUNTERMEASURES SYSTEMS

Thales Underwater Systems' reputation as a world leader in MCM is founded upon a proven operational pedigree stretching back more than 50 years. The superior performance of our advanced hull-mounted, variable depth and towed sidescan minehunting sonars has been repeatedly demonstrated in exercises and live operations world-wide. We have also developed the world's first operational Propelled Variable Depth Sonar (PVDS), and advanced MCM tactical systems for effective command and control.

Today, we have pioneered the application of high FM bandwidth processing techniques to minehunting sonar, providing an unmatched and hitherto unattained capability to detect and classify stealthy mines in difficult seabed conditions.

Our team has mastered the implementation of real time synthetic aperture processing, with record-breaking resolution measured at sea, and is under contract with the NATO Undersea Research Center to provide a comprehensive UUV based mine reconnaissance system. In parallel with this programme Thales have produced a demonstrator UUV with a synthetic aperture sonar payload.