Thales to Test Sonar for French DGA’s Unmanned Combat Underwater Vehicle

Thales has secured a contract from Naval Group to test a passive hull-mounted sonar, part of a French defence procurement agency (DGA)-led project to develop an Unmanned Combat Underwater Vehicle (UCUV) demonstrator.

The passive omnidirectional hull-mounted sonar, to be integrated into the demonstrator, comprises a cylindrical panoramic array and an internal unit housing the operating software. Together, the array and operating system provide an accurate, detailed picture of the ocean surface environment to ensure the underwater vehicle can ascend and surface safely.

Thales will assist with the integration of the sonar solution on the Ocean Drone Demonstrator (Démonstrateur Drone Océanique / DDO), developed by Naval Group for the Unmanned Combat Underwater Vehicle (UCUV) program.

This project aims to provide the French Ministry of the Armed Forces with access to the latest underwater systems technologies to gain and sustain undersea dominance in operational theaters. These technologies and tactical capabilities are expected to deliver an effective operational response in the medium term to meet the needs of underwater warfare and new forms of naval combat.

Marc Delorme, Thales lead for the UCUV project, stated that the passive omnidirectional hull-mounted sonar is a key component of the unmanned underwater vehicle's acoustic detection system. Its autonomous detection, classification, and localization capabilities will rely on high-performance signal processing, data analytics, and artificial intelligence functionalities.