Thales has entered into a strategic agreement with Naval Group to provide advanced sonar systems for the Royal Netherlands Navy’s upcoming Orka-class submarines. These new vessels are slated to replace the aging Walrus-class submarines currently in operation.
The sonar suite being supplied plays a crucial role in enhancing maritime situational awareness, enabling the detection, location, and classification of underwater threats across a diverse spectrum of ranges and frequencies. Key components of this sophisticated system include obstacle-avoidance sonars, an intercept array, and a passive towed-array sonar, alongside an underwater communication system, an echo sounder, and robust signal processing racks. Together, these applications create a comprehensive acoustic profile of the underwater environment, significantly improving the threat detection capabilities of the submarines.
Sébastien Guérémy, Vice President for Underwater Systems at Thales, emphasized the significance of the partnership, stating, “This partnership will enhance the technological superiority of the Dutch armed forces, and reflects our ongoing commitment to providing innovative, dependable solutions in support of the defense capabilities of allied nations.”
Thales has a well-established reputation in naval technology, with its systems currently integrated into more than 50 submarines, encompassing various types such as ballistic missile submarines, nuclear-powered attack submarines, and conventionally-powered attack submarines. Additionally, Thales offers a wide range of maritime systems, including mine-hunting technologies, navigation aids, sonobuoys, and other advanced solutions that are pivotal for naval operations globally.
In a related development, the French Navy has selected Thales to supply SonoFlash sonobuoys. This contract entails the delivery of hundreds of sonobuoys equipped with both active and passive detection technologies, aimed at bolstering the navy’s anti-submarine warfare capabilities. These systems are designed to enhance the detection, tracking, and response abilities concerning submarine movements over expansive distances, further underscoring Thales’s pivotal role in modern maritime defense technology.
