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French multinational defence corporation Thales has signed a contract with the French defence procurement agency to supply the French Navy with several hundred SonoFlash sonobuoys.
Manufactured in France in collaboration with French small and medium-sized enterprises, the SonoFlash sonobuoy is expected to strengthen France’s strategic and capability ambitions in the field of anti-submarine warfare.
Deployed from a maritime patrol aircraft (ATL2) or a helicopter (NH90), the SonoFlash sonobuoy enables the detection of submarines. It is fully interoperable with the FLASH dipping sonar and the CAPTAS family of towed array sonars.
Thales will enhance the anti-submarine warfare capabilities of the French Navy by providing several hundred SonoFlash sonobuoys, according to the company. The expendable sonar buoys offer both active and passive modes: they are equipped with a powerful low-frequency emitter and a receiver with high directivity.
Combined with the FLASH dipping sonar, the SonoFlash sonobuoys will enable an airborne platform to search for the presence of submarines over a greater range and offer greater responsiveness to the evasive manoeuvres of these platforms.
The high-performance communication systems of the SonoFlash enable all surface ships and aircraft, as well as acoustic support centres equipped with a sonobuoy processing system, to receive the data collected by the buoy.
“Through its SonoFlash sonobuoy and the CAPTAS and FLASH sonars, Thales is proud to contribute to the development of the French anti-submarine warfare sector,” said Sébastien Guérémy, vice president of underwater systems activities, Thales.
“The excellence of Thales’ offerings solutions in this field is recognised worldwide and is being put to the service of the French Navy in a context of renewed tensions at sea.”
In March 2021, The French defence procurement agency awarded Thales a contract to develop, qualify and manufacture the SonoFlash air-droppable sonobuoy.
