Sonar Buoys Order Upgrades French Navy's ASW Capabilities

French defence procurement agency the DGA has recently placed an order for “several hundred” Thales SonoFlash buoys for the French Navy to boost its anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities.

As per a recent press statement, at the end of last year the Direction Générale de l’Armement committed to the purchase of the next-generation acoustic buoys as part of the SonoFlash framework agreement deal first struck with the firm back in 2021.

Each buoy is a little over 90cm long and 12cm in diameter. It boasts both active and passive sonar modes and the network of sensors are intended to enhance the security of both the French Navy’s surface vessels and its nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines.

The SonoFlash buoys can work in tandem with the French navy’s existing acoustic buoys; they can be loaded onto and deployed by a range of platforms including surface vessels, the French Navy’s Atlantique 2 maritime patrol aircraft and NH90 Caïman Marine helicopters, and fixed-wing and rotary-wing uncrewed aerial systems (UAS).

The SonoFlash buoys deploy automatically after being air-dropped and boast greater operating autonomy than the older systems.

The DGA noted the acquisition “reflects France's desire to equip itself with a sovereign technological and industrial sector in this area and to strengthen the national strategic and capacity ambition in the field of anti-submarine warfare.”

Back when the framework agreement was signed Thales’ VP Underwater Systems Alexis Morel commented: “We are grateful to the DGA and the Navy for the trust they have placed in us and delighted to be working with French partner SMEs to bring this project to a successful conclusion and restore France's sovereign capabilities in sonobuoys.”

• You can read more details on the DGA website