UDT 2024: Aselsan progresses development of mini Düfas towed active sonar system

A scale model of the active array for the miniature version of Düfas on display at UDT 2024. (Janes/Kate Tringham)

Turkish manufacturer Aselsan is progressing development of a miniature version of its Düfas low-frequency towed active sonar system for unmanned surface vessels (USVs), which it expects to complete this year.

Speaking to Janes at the Undersea Defence Technology (UDT) 2024 conference and exhibition in London on 10 April, an Aselsan spokesperson said the company has been working on the smaller version, dubbed Düfas-M, since 2022.

The company is now progressing through tests of the individual hardware components, which it expects to complete in the coming months. Sea trials of the complete system integrated onboard a Marlin USV will start in the second half of 2024, with a view to completing development by year-end, he said.

Developed under the leadership of Türkiye's Defence Industry Agency (SSB) to meet the requirements of the Turkish Navy, Düfas is designed for long-range anti-submarine warfare and surveillance.

Aselsan officially unveiled the full-scale version of Düfas for use on surface combatants in March 2024 following the successful completion of sea trials in late 2023.

The system is equipped with a low-frequency towed active array and a low-frequency towed passive array, signal processing and power cabinets, and an operator console. The larger version for combat ships features two separate winches for the active and passive arrays, while on the mini version both arrays will be towed on the same winch.

The system has 360º omnidirectional transmission and is based around a bistatic/multistatic sonar architecture and selectable pulse type and pulse length capabilities. In active mode, it can automatically detect and localise targets and in passive mode, it can automatically detect, track, and classify torpedoes at long range.