Thales to Upgrade British SSN Sonars

SSN Astute Class concept(click to view full) Thales UK has been awarded a GBP 30 million contract (about $55 million) for a major enhancement to the Trafalgar Class and new SSN Astute Class submarine sonar suites as the lead sonar provider and lead system integrator. Designated the Sonar 2076 Stage 5 programme, this upgrade will replace the existing inboard processing equipment with an open architecture COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) based processing system. The Stage 5 programme will be managed, developed and deployed by the Thales UK underwater systems business in Cheadle Heath, Manchester. This upgrade builds on the successfully deployed 2076 Stage 4 system that serves aboard SSN Trafalgar Class attack submarines, and forms a key element in the UK Ministry of Defence Common Core Combat System initiative (CCCS) championed by the MoD Integrated Project Teams (ASM, UWS and Sub IPTs). Partners in the Sonar 2076 prograsm include Ultra Electronics (consoles).