Ultra Maritime Sonar For Hunter-Class Frigates

The Australian arm of British defence firm Ultra Maritime has won an order to provide bow sonar units for the new Hunter-class frigates being built for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

As per a recent company press statement, the firm’s 2150 Bow Sonar system will be fitted under a deal struck with BAE Systems Maritime Australia.

The system features both active and passive anti-submarine warfare (ASW) modes and automated torpedo detection, ranging and classification, as well as mine and obstacle avoidance sonar and integrated underwater communications.

Vice President and General Manager of Ultra Maritime Australia Mark Potter said the system would offer the new ships “best-in-class capabilities” and added: “Ultra Maritime is committed to building a strategic partnership with the Commonwealth of Australia, as we continue to invest and grow our support to the Royal Australian Navy fleet with delivery of world-class undersea warfare solutions.”

BAE Systems Maritime Australia won the contract to build the frigates at the Osborne Naval Shipyard, South Australia, as part of the nation’s Continuous Naval Shipbuilding programme.

Construction work on the first boat, the future HMAS Hunter, began in June 2024 and the vessel is scheduled to be commissioned in 2034. The names of the next two frigates, the Flinders and the Tasman, have also been announced, but timelines for their completion have not yet been released.

The result of the Future Frigate Programme which started back in 2009, initially eight and then nine ships were planned at an estimated cost of AU$35 billion. The contract was awarded to BAE Systems in 2018; this was revised to an order for six Hunter-class frigates in February 2024.

Ultra Maritime has operated in Australia for more than 15 years, initially specialising in electronic warfare capabilities. Its domestically-supported  Integrated Sonar System (ISS) is installed on the RAN’s Hobart-class destroyers (DDG). 

• You can read more details on the Ultra Maritime website