Thales confirms CAPTAS-1 for Irish Naval Service

The Irish Naval Service Samuel Beckett-class OPV LÉ George Bernard Shaw. The CAPTAS-1 system to equip the Irish Naval Service's OPVs and may be used on vessels of opportunity. (Janes/Neil Dee )

Thales has said that it will provide its containerised CAPTAS-1 sonar system to the Irish Naval Service, confirming a previous announcement from the Irish Department of Defence (DoD) in June 2025 and details originally reported in Irish media.

Speaking to Janes at Clarion Defence's Undersea Defence Technology (UDT) 2026 exhibition, held in London from 14-16 April, Ian McFarlane, sales director, underwater systems at Thales, confirmed the acquisition. He said that CAPTAS-1 will help to provide the Irish Naval Service with a containerised, towed-array, anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capability that it has not had before. Thales subsequently confirmed to Janes that the acquisition covers three CAPTAS-1 systems with an option for a fourth.

McFarlane added that the containerised CAPTAS-1 can be embarked by the Naval Service on the stern of its offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) or from vessels of opportunity (VOO). However, McFarlane said that while the system could be put on a VOO, the importance of self-noise for ASW tasks would need to be taken into account for such an installation.

More broadly, McFarlane said that Thales is looking towards providing modular capabilities, such as containerised systems, for navies. While ships-taken-up-from-trade (STUFT) lack some survivability, McFarlane said, containerised solutions for STUFT would provide capabilities in theatre and be attractive for some navies that have seen platform numbers decline.