United States News Archives

Anduril and Ultra Maritime Announce Exclusive Partnership on Groundbreaking Autonomous Ocean Sensing Capability

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BRAINTREE, Massachusetts – Anduril Industries and Ultra Maritime are proud to announce an exclusive partnership to develop a significant new capability in next generation unmanned subsea sensing, making it possible for U.S. and allied nations to enhance their submarine detection capabilities rapidly and inexpensively. By bringing together Ultra Maritime’s innovative Sea Spear deployable acoustic arrays and AI enabled acoustic processing with Anduril’s undersea autonomy capabilities, including Dive XL and Seabed Sentry, plus Anduril’s Lattice communications framework, the partnership will provide a major advance in distributed, low-cost undersea surveillance.

As enemy submarines grow quieter and greater in number, the need for low-cost solutions to submarine detection grows. Autonomous systems provide a clear path to low-cost, low-risk anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capability, but have to date been hampered by inadequate technology. Issues of range, endurance, sensitivity, communication, scale and more have limited advances in autonomous or uncrewed ASW. Anduril and Ultra Maritime have developed an innovative approach to make autonomous undersea ASW possible.

The concept uses Anduril’s Dive XL to autonomously deliver and deploy Anduril’s Seabed Sentry modular undersea payload system, which in turn hosts Ultra Maritime’s Sea Spear lightweight sensing array as a payload. Once deployed, Sea Spear pushes Sonar processing to the tactical edge using modern AI techniques. The system then uses acoustic communications and Anduril’s Lattice framework to provide users real time, autonomous submarine sensing. Multiple systems can be deployed in a distributed manner, enabling a user to see detects distributed across large ocean areas. The joint effort is well underway and achieves end to end in-water testing in 2025.

Ultra Maritime Features First-of-its-Kind Lightweight Deployable Sonar Capability at Sea Air Space 2025

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As submarine and autonomous threats increase and become more stealthy, undersea domain awareness is becoming more critical than ever. Ultra Maritime will present a new, unique and innovative solution for these undersea threats in the form of a lightweight deployable sonar capability called Sea Spear at Sea Air Space 2025 next week in National Harbor, Maryland.

Including this exciting new technology, Ultra Maritime will highlight the following at its booth #1111:

Sea Spear – New Lightweight Deployable Sonar
Ultra Maritime unveils Sea Spear, a first-of-its-kind lightweight deployable sonar system that enhances submarine detection capabilities rapidly and inexpensively. As the maritime domain shifts, submarines become more stealthy and unmanned underwater vehicles grow in number, Sea Spear provides a solution for long endurance and long-range surveillance capability and threat monitoring. Deployable from crewed or uncrewed surface and underwater platforms, the 21-inch diameter unit expands to create a high-performance, wide-aperture array. Already well into its development phase and in-water testing, full operational demonstration will occur in 2025. As part of an exclusive partnership, Ultra Maritime’s Sea Spear will be deployed with Anduril’s Seabed Sentry, a network of ‘cable-less’ deep-sea nodes that sense, process and communicate critical subsea information in real time.

Next Generation Sonobuoys
Ultra Maritime is delivering a new generation of sonobuoys, revolutionizing submarine detection technology with unprecedented predictability and detection capabilities. These redesigned and independently manufactured systems incorporate significant advancements, including enhanced battery technology that extends the operational lifespan of active buoys. This breakthrough provides allied navies with a critical edge in undersea warfare, elevating defense operations to a new level of performance. Ultra Maritime has made significant investments that have fully qualified three new sonobuoy models with two additional qualifications in 2025, and towards creating the factory of the future configured specifically for sonobuoys and made to achieve reliable delivery at the production rate demands of the global market.

Ultra Maritime Mission Pod – Containerized Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW)
The Ultra Maritime Mission Pod is an extensive advancement in towed array packaging technology that enables smaller manned and unmanned surface vessels to greatly increase their anti-submarine warfare capabilities. This game-changing system houses and deploys towed arrays from a 20-foot ISO container, achieving a genuine modular, flexible and scalable solution for any Navy. The Ultra Maritime Mission Pod allows for ASW capabilities without the need for traditional, large, expensive manned surface combatant platforms.

Surface Ship Torpedo Defense
Ultra Maritime has made significant investment towards creating a complete layered torpedo defense solution comprised of multiple strategies and systems working together to detect and neutralize incoming torpedo threats. This next generation torpedo defense capability combines expendable countermeasures, both soft and hard kill, with towed detection and countermeasures, ensuring the safety of naval vessels from torpedo attacks. This integrated approach to torpedo defense is critical to address the growing submarine threat by significantly improving our survivability and drastically shortening the kill chain for an inbound threat.

Next Generation Surface Search Radar
Next Generation Surface Search Radar (NGSSR) is the Navy’s first multi-mission navigation radar that enhances warfighting capabilities and safety of navigation. This radar can be reconfigured through software updates and is designed to support combat systems, surface search, safety of navigation, periscope detection and other missions. Ultra Maritime will highlight a small form factor solution built upon NGSSR, for use on small and unmanned platforms, giving the ability to share data across both manned and unmanned networks and providing a common operating picture while performing surface search and other classified mission capabilities.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael H. Lee/Released

Ultra Maritime Awarded Subcontract for MK 48 MOD 7 Guidance and Control Heavyweight Torpedo Program

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BRAINTREE, Massachusetts — Ultra Maritime received a contract to provide the Acoustic Nose Array (ANA) for the MK 48 MOD 7 Guidance and Control section of the heavyweight torpedo in December 2024 from Lockheed Martin in support of their $245 million award for production, spares, production support material, engineering support and hardware repair of components for the MK 48 Guidance and Control Mod 7 program.

Under the terms of the contract, Ultra Maritime is manufacturing fully assembled Nose Array’s based out of its Braintree, Massachusetts, facility. These Nose Arrays incorporate a sonar array that is used to acquire targets and generate the target position data required for engagement.

“Through our ongoing partnership with Lockheed Martin, we are committed to supporting the U.S. Navy and allied nations in their mission to maintain maritime superiority,” said Robert Van Dyke, Vice President and General Manager of Ultra Maritime Seaborne Sensors and Systems.

Ultra Maritime also currently manufactures similar sections for the MK 54 MOD 0 Lightweight and MK 58 Compact Rapid Attack Weapon (CRAW) torpedoes. With decades of experience fabricating, assembling and delivering array assemblies, Ultra Maritime has positioned itself as a trusted transducer manufacturing partner in delivering this critical anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capability to the fleet.

Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Jordan Jennings

Ultra Maritime Receives $420 Million Award for Next Generation Surface Search Radar

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Braintree, Mass. – The U.S. Navy awarded Ultra Maritime a $420 million firm-fixed-price contract for production of AN/SPS-73(V) 18 Next Generation Surface Search Radar systems, with an initial value of $84 million. Work will be performed in Braintree, Massachusetts (73%); Wake Forest, North Carolina (17%); and Chantilly, Virginia (10%), and is expected to be completed by August 2027. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September 2031.

Click here for the official DoD award announcement.

Next Generation Sonobuoys - Ultra Maritime

Ultra Maritime Receives $99 Million Other Transaction Agreement from U.S. Navy for Q53H Sonobuoys

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COLUMBIA CITY, Ind. – Ultra Maritime has been awarded a Sole Source Firm Fixed Priced contract in the amount of $99,999,738.00 for the AN/SSQ-53H Sonobuoy Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) for the Navy in support of annual training, peacetime operations and testing expenditures, as well as, to maintain sufficient inventory to support the execution of major combat operations based on naval munitions requirements process.    

“With our LRIP award for the Q53 sonobuoys, we at Ultra Maritime are honored to play a pivotal role in advancing anti-submarine warfare capabilities for the U.S. Navy and our allied nations,” expressed Ed Cook, Vice President and General Manager of Ultra Maritime U.S. “Our dedicated team of engineers and manufacturing experts work tirelessly to rapidly design, test and deliver hundreds of thousands of sonobuoys annually, reinforcing naval defense operations globally. This commitment underscores our unwavering dedication to enhancing maritime security and safeguarding international waters.”

Ultra Maritime recently made the largest investment in company history for a more streamlined production capability and reliable delivery of these new sonobuoys. The company offers a full range of sonobuoys and is the only manufacturer of G size (half-size) buoys used internationally.

See Ultra Maritime’s full range of sonobuoys.

Next Generation Sonobuoys - Ultra Maritime

Ultra Maritime Receives $49 Million Other Transaction Agreement from U.S. Navy for Q62 Next Generation Sonobuoys Under the Naval Aviation Systems Consortium

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Ultra Maritime Receives $49 Million Other Transaction Agreement from U.S.
Navy for Q62G Sonobuoys under the Naval Aviation Systems Consortium

Ultra Maritime is the first and only qualified provider of the Q-62 and Q-53 sonobuoys.

COLUMBIA CITY, Indiana – July 29, 2024 – Ultra Maritime has been awarded a Sole Sourced Firm Fixed Priced contract in the amount of $49,000,000.00 for the AN/SSQ-62G Sonobuoy Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) for the Navy in support of annual training, peacetime operations and testing expenditures, as well as to maintain sufficient inventory to support the execution of major combat operations based on naval munitions requirements process.

Esco Acquires SMaP

ESCO Technologies Acquires Ultra Maritime SMaP

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ESCO Technologies announced yesterday the acquisition of Ultra Maritime’s Signature Management and Power (SMaP) line of business. Ultra Maritime would like to recognize the SMaP team for their innovative work, unique expertise and dedication to meeting commitments. SMaP has become a recognized industry leader for some of the most mission-critical submarine and surface ship technologies in both the UK and U.S. Leadership at both ESCO and Ultra Maritime have remarked that the success of SMaP is due to the people who show up every day. As the process to final closing moves ahead, Ultra Maritime sends our sincere appreciation to the entire SMaP team for all they have done for our customers and business, and acknowledge their bright future delivering for customers’ missions as a key part of ESCO Technologies.

Read the full press release at
https://investor.escotechnologies.com/news-releases/news-release-details/esco-announces-acquisition-navy-supplier

Anti-Submarine Warfare Solution

Ultra Maritime and UMS SKELDAR Receive a Contract to Evaluate UAS Based Anti-Submarine Warfare Solution

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Dartmouth, Canada: Ultra Maritime (Ultra) and UMS SKELDAR are pleased to announce that they have been awarded a 2nd Phase contract under the Department of National Defence’s (DND) Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) program, which will explore the development of a Rotary Wing UAS to provide an Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) sonobuoy dispensing capability, based on the SKELDAR V-200 Uncrewed Aircraft System (UAS).

This innovative program will review how a medium-sized UAS can be used to deploy sonobuoys for the purpose of tracking potentially hostile submarines operating in the open ocean or close to coastal areas that could pose a threat to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) or other forces. Andrew Anderson, Chief Technology Officer, Ultra Sonar Systems, explains: “We are constantly reviewing new technologies to determine how they can be used to tackle the threat from hostile submarines. The scope of this program is to evaluate the technical and operational feasibility of deploying sonobuoys from a Class II Rotary Wing UAS, to provide the warfighter with another tool in the ASW toolbox.”

Richard Hjelmberg, Vice President Business Development for UMS SKELDAR, adds: “We are delighted to be a part of this contract with Ultra. Using Rotary Unmanned Aircraft Systems to help conduct ASW will provide many benefits, not least enabling rapid deployment capabilities, a smaller logistical footprint on Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) ships and a cost-effective alternative to current methods. At UMS we are proud of our innovation leadership when it comes to advances in rotary-wing UAS platforms. Our SKELDAR V-200 platform is a prime example of this, with a capability of completing remote automatic flights, exceeding six-hour flight times thanks to the robust heavy fuel engine and the ability to provide a high degree of maintainability and minimum turn-around times. These credentials we believe are the perfect fit for this program.” The SKELDAR V-200 has advanced intelligence-gathering capabilities when equipped with multiple sensors. Flight times can exceed six hours, and the heavy-fuel engine combined with efficient maintenance procedures and ease of access to the engine compartment allow for highly efficient routine service processes.

MADOC sonobuoy contract

Ultra Awarded MADOC Next Generation Sonobuoy Contract

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Columbia City, IN: Ultra Sonobuoy Systems (Ultra) has been selected as a qualified vendor for a Multiple Award Delivery Order Contract (MADOC). This contract will provide a vehicle for Ultra to supply the U.S. Navy (USN) with next-generation sonobuoys for the next five years.   The USN Navy purchases roughly $300 million a year in sonobuoys. Ultra is the world’s leader in providing more than 200,000 sonobuoys to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and other navies around the world.

Ultra has a well-established history of providing best-in-class sonobuoys to the USN and its international allies. This award reflects the USN’s continued trust in Ultras’ ability to continue to develop, produce and deliver world-class products that are used every day to ‘Find, Fix and Finish’ the threat. Ultra remains committed to reducing the cost of ‘washing water’ to the USN and its Allies across the entire anti-submarine warfare mission profiles.

Eric Webster, President of Ultra Sonobuoy Systems, commented: “We are very excited to be chosen by the U.S. Navy to provide next-generation sonobuoys to support the fleet. With conflicts increasing with our near-peer rivals, the importance of anti-submarine warfare and the need for greater quantities of increasingly more capable sonobuoys continues to grow. I am extremely proud of the Ultra team’s focus to deliver innovative solutions and ensure continuity of supply to the U.S. Navy.”

NAVAIR Public Release 2022-588 Distribution Statement A – Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

Hiring Practices in Defense Industry

What Home Buying and Hiring Talent Have In Common

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If you have been trying to buy a house recently you know the market has been crazy, homes are selling faster and for more money than ever. Today’s candidate market is not much different. We are seeing candidates being offered higher salaries than in the past due to companies competing for talent. One cause is that in a post Covid-19 world more companies are allowing remote work which gives a candidate the option to work for a company they would not have been able to in the past due to location. How do we compete with this?

The Talent Acquisition team within Ultra has been encouraging hiring managers to have a plan when looking to hire a new candidate. plan should include thinking to themselves “Am I willing to pay top dollar for a strong candidate?”, “Can I train a junior candidate and teach them what they need to know?” and “Can this job be done remotely?”. Asking these questions will help go a long way in being realistic and prepared when interviewing candidates.

How do we compete with these other companies? There are multiple ways that we can get the talent we need even in a tough market. First, we need to move quickly. Often the ones who act first will get their top choice in a candidate. This includes interviewing as soon as possible, limiting the number of interviews and making a quick decision about whether to move forward with an offer or not. Next, presenting a strong and competitive offer. If a candidate is given an offer that is in-line with what they requested that will give them less to have to think about, it does not mean that there will not be some negotiation, but it will show the candidate that Ultra is serious and wants them to join us. 

All this plays into providing a good candidate experience. The candidate will remember how they were treated throughout the process and that will have an impact on their decision. It is important to remember that the recruitment does not stop after an offer is accepted. The future employee will remain excited, engaged, and committed if the hiring manager stays in communication with them leading up to the start date. Something as simple as a quick text message or email just to check in can go a long way to ensure that the candidate will not back out.

It is very much a candidate’s market right now. Potential future employees are interviewing the company just as much as the company is interviewing them. They want to know what exciting projects will be offered, what is the career development plan and what a company’s views on work/personal life balance are. Think back to when you were interviewing, what were some of the reasons you accepted the offer to come work at Ultra? We need to remember what it was like being a candidate and how we hoped to be treated through the interview process and give that same experience to those that we interview.

There is no such thing as the “perfect candidate”. A good hiring concept is the 80/20 rule. Can this candidate do 80% of the job and do they have the ability and potential to learn how to do the remaining 20%? If the answer is yes, then the hiring manager should feel confident in their own ability to develop the candidate in the areas that need to be improved on.

When it comes to hiring there is no exact science. We need to understand that we are working with people and people can be unpredictable. The best way to hire top talent is to collaborate with fellow stake holders. This would include the hiring manager, Human Resources, and the Talent Acquisition team. When everyone is aligned it reflects on the hiring process and allows for clear communication and a speedy result to help find, interview, and hire top candidates.

Finally, wishing those looking for a new opportunity and hiring managers all the best in their searches.

Ready to solve problems we don’t even know about yet? Search current opportunities at Ultra Maritime on our website.