New realistic sonar training facility welcomed by Royal Navy

Thales has consolidated its position as a leading provider of tailor made training services to the UK Ministry of Defence with the opening of a highly innovative sonar training facility for the Royal Navy.

This new facility at Clyde Naval Base at Faslane in Scotland will bring highly-realistic sonar training for submariners which operate the market leading Thales Sonar 2076 system.

The opening of the Faslane facility also builds on the success of a similar facility opened at HMS Raleigh in 2015. These two facilities give submariners a real operational edge over their adversaries as it allows sonar operators to train on the exact sonar system they will be working on in their individual submarines.

The Rapidly Reconfigurable Training Technology (RRTT) system provides highly realistic, hands on training, and removes any 'training lag' where operators have previously had to familiarise themselves with individual systems on different boats.

The system brings together Royal Navy tactical expertise, delivered by RN Instructors, with industry expert Thales' delivery of state of the art system operational knowledge.

The package delivers a professional, portable learning environment, which uses the latest screen and software technologies. RRTT has been designed so that it can easily be re-configured to future upgrades and, in time, be easily applied to other naval training such as naval communications, anti-submarine and mine warfare.

Sean Perry-Evans, UK Services Development Director, said: "I am delighted to see this world class facility opening today at Faslane, it brings a flexible and highly innovative approach to sonar training that delivers real operational benefits to the Royal Navy.

"We are immensely proud of the standard of the services we offer to our UK armed forces partners across the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force who rightly deserve their reputation as world class professionals. This facility and the breadth of our realistic training and support expertise keeps the UK's military personnel and our sensors and systems ready for operations."

Phil Jones, head of Thales's maritime business in the UK, said: "2076 has been the key sonar on Royal Navy submarines for many years and we have invested heavily in its technological development to ensure it remains the most powerful and effective system at the cutting edge of submarine operations."

"So it is only fitting that we have worked immensely hard with our Royal Navy partner to deliver such innovative and flexible training to train UK sonar operators in such a realistic environment. Together, we've delivered a system that is reconfigurable for a variety of scenarios, ensuring the operators train on the right software configuration to support their future missions."