Agile airborne acoustic solutions

With increasing numbers of submarines, navies must protect larger areas. Aircraft can cover these, moving into position quickly – a decisive advantage in ASW. But agility must be combined with high-performance sonar. Thales’s combination of advanced technology, rapid deployment, and collaborative-readiness helps airborne platforms reach their full potential, extending search zones and ensuring early detection. 

Localisation and tracking form a vital bridge between detection and engagement. Our airborne sonar systems combine features such as low-frequency, wide-band transmission and advanced multi-sensor data correlation that deliver high-confidence, continuous tracking and precise range localisation. Combined with the agility of airborne platforms, navies can ensure accurate and early action against threats. 

During critical operations, navies need to minimize errors and maximize contact certainty. The leading technology of our airborne systems ensures unambiguous classification of suspicious contacts, with high-fidelity data. They provide navies high-confidence in targeting and optimize their use of assets. 

By delivering agile and precise acoustic surveillance, aircraft equipped with our systems provide robust situational awareness over wide areas. This actively contributes to the protection of high-value assets such as maritime convoys, ports, and strategic access points, while ensuring naval forces maintain the freedom of action needed to enhance overall fleet security.

Combining versatility, performance and rapid deployment, Thales’s airborne sonar systems increase the potential for aircraft to create a critical tactical advantage. This enables ASW operations to maximise the element of surprise — a key capability for neutralising quiet threats.