Thales to Provide French Navy with Indigenous Anti-Submarine Sonobuoy Technology
Thales has established a contract with the French defense acquisition agency (DGA) to supply the French Navy with several hundred SonoFlash sonobuoys. Manufactured in collaboration with local SMEs in France, the SonoFlash sonobuoy enhances France’s strategic and tactical objectives in anti-submarine warfare. Deployed from maritime reconnaissance aircraft (such as the ATL2) or helicopters (like the NH90), the SonoFlash sonobuoy aids in submarine detection. It is fully compatible with the Flash dipping sonar and the CAPTAS series of towed array sonars.
Thales will strengthen the anti-submarine warfare capabilities of the French Navy through the delivery of numerous SonoFlash sonobuoys. These cutting-edge sonar buoys uniquely offer both active and passive operational functionalities: they feature a sturdy low-frequency emitter paired with a receiver that offers exceptional directivity.
When combined with the FLASH dipping sonar, the SonoFlash sonobuoys will empower an airborne platform to extend its search for submarines over a broader area, while also providing improved responsiveness to the evasive strategies employed by these vessels.
The sophisticated communication systems of the SonoFlash enable all surface vessels and aircraft, along with acoustic support centers equipped with sonobuoy processing technologies, to access the information gathered by the buoy.
“With its SonoFlash sonobuoy and the CAPTAS and FLASH sonar systems, Thales is dedicated to advancing the French anti-submarine warfare sector. The expertise of Thales’s solutions in this field is recognized worldwide and is being implemented for the French Navy against a backdrop of escalating maritime tensions,” declared Sébastien Guérémy, Vice President of Underwater Systems at Thales.
