Thales and BAE Systems have entered a new phase of their partnership to advance next-generation submarine sonar capabilities for the UK.
Building on more than two decades of collaboration, the agreement aims to enhance sonar systems for the Royal Navy’s submarine fleet through a delivery model that speeds up deployment of advanced solutions.
“The underwater battlespace is one of the most complex and unforgiving environments in defense, where threats are often unseen but always present,” said Paul Armstrong, Managing Director for Underwater Systems at Thales UK.
“By combining the complementary strengths of Thales and BAE Systems, we are bringing together world-class innovation and proven expertise to deliver cutting-edge sovereign capability for the UK to maintain decisive advantage at sea.”
Thales in the UK
While already supplying sonar systems for anti-submarine frigates such as the British Type 23 and Type 26, Thales has been pursuing several other recent initiatives to support UK defense capabilities.
Earlier this month, the company and Autonomous Devices announced a collaboration to develop a drone-based electronic warfare system.
Dubbed EW-UAS1, the system combines Thales’ electronic-warfare payload with a long-endurance, highly maneuverable drone platform.
In May, Thales UK partnered with L3Harris to develop an integrated short-range air defense command and control solution.
In March, the Royal Navy received the first of four autonomous minehunting systems from Thales, a 12-meter (39-foot) unmanned surface vessel equipped with AI for automatic target recognition capable of operating autonomously or under remote control.
