Thales opens sonar manufacturing facility in Australia

Opening of the Rydalmere facility by Australian Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy (left). (Thales)

Thales Australia has opened a new sonar manufacturing and sustainment facility at its Rydalmere complex in Western Sydney.

Thales announced on 26 October that the facility will serve as a hub to design, manufacture, integrate, and sustain undersea acoustic systems.

Jointly funded by Thales and the Australian government, the facility is located within the Thales Australia Acoustics Centre of Excellence. Thales described the facility as a multimillion-dollar investment but did not disclose its value.

According to Thales, the facility includes a 100 m-long production hall designed to support the end-to-end manufacture and sustainment of towed array sonar systems for submarines, surface ships, and autonomous maritime systems serving both Australian and export markets.

Thales said local sustainment of its sensors would help keep Australian assets at sea for longer and support intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) activities. The company described its towed-array sonar system as capable of detecting, tracking, and identifying quiet underwater objects, including submarines and torpedoes.

The company added that the new towed array facility will support three undersea warfare programmes and capabilities for Australia. This includes the towed-array sonars for the Hunter-class frigate programme, designed to enable long-range submarine detection and tracking while improving fleet survivability and maritime domain awareness.

The new facility will also facilitate the delivery of the Collins-class submarine sonar system, developed through more than 35 years of collaboration between Thales Australia, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), and Australian defence science organisations, Thales said.

According to the RAN, the Hunter-class frigate is planned to be equipped with Thales' S2087 towed array and variable depth sonar, while the Collins-class submarines are fitted with the company's retractable and passive short towed-array sonars.