Thales acquires full ownership of Advanced Acoustic Concepts (AAC)

• Thales Defense & Security, Inc. (TDSI) has acquired full ownership of Advanced Acoustic Concepts (AAC), their joint venture with Leonardo DRS.
• As a US industry contractor, AAC has a history of providing successful, innovative systems and solutions across the US Navy’s Undersea Warfare domain.
• With AAC, TDSI will increase its engineering and industrial footprint in the US defense market, with reinforced US-based teams and capabilities.

Thales subsidiary TDSI has acquired full ownership of AAC, their joint venture with Leonardo DRS. ​

TDSI serves the defense, federal, and commercial markets as a US provider of mission-critical systems, providing innovative solutions for the ground tactical, airborne and avionics, naval/maritime, and security domains. As a subsidiary of Thales, TDSI operates in accordance with a Proxy Agreement approved by the US Department of Defense to mitigate concerns associated with Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence (FOCI).

With a well-recognized technology portfolio, TDSI serves as a gateway, leveraging proven Thales solutions from around the world – such as combat management systems; airborne, ship and ground radars; helmet mounted displays; missile fuzes; and battlefield sensors – to address US requirements.

AAC is one of the main US technical players in the fields of advanced sonar, training and knowledge management systems. The company delivers modernization systems for the US Navy through an open business, open systems technology insertion model. With more than 200 employees, AAC generated $80 million (~€70 Million) sales in 2021.

“AAC’s skills and experience in surface ship Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), airborne ASW, and mine countermeasures will strengthen our support of the US DOD,” said Mike Sheehan, CEO of Thales Defense & Security, Inc. “Further, since its formation, the company has achieved solid performance while supporting the needs of the US Navy. We expect AAC to continue this success under TDSI ownership.”

Financial terms of the deal are not being disclosed.