United States News Archives

Ultra Maritime Highlights Next Generation Undersea Warfare Capabilities at AFCEA WEST 2026

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SAN DIEGO, California – This week at AFCEA West, Ultra Maritime is showcasing new, innovative solutions for anti-submarine warfare and unmanned capabilities during a time when undersea domain awareness is becoming more critical than ever.

Portfolio highlights at booth #2225 will include the following:

Sea Spear
Ultra Maritime’s Sea Spear is a first-of-its-kind lightweight, deployable sonar delivering rapid, cost-effective submarine detection. Designed for long-endurance, long-range surveillance in an increasingly contested undersea domain, Sea Spear deploys from crewed or uncrewed surface and subsea platforms and expands to form a high-performance wide-aperture array. Now in advanced development and in-water testing, Sea Spear will be deployed with Anduril’s Seabed Sentry to provide real-time subsea intelligence.

Sea Tracker
Designed as a system of systems, Sea Tracker gives navies a decisive advantage, enabling persistent detection, precise classification and confident prosecution of the most silent and sophisticated submarines from manned or unmanned surface vessels. Ultra Maritime’s Sea Tracker delivers a containerized towed array solution that brings advanced anti-submarine warfare and torpedo defense capabilities from a standard 20-foot ISO container. It offers unmatched flexibility and rapid deployment wherever missions demand.

Next Generation Sonobuoys
Ultra Maritime is delivering a new generation of sonobuoys, revolutionizing submarine detection technology with unprecedented predictability and detection capabilities. These redesigned systems incorporate significant advancements, including enhanced battery technology that extends the operational lifespan of active buoys. Providing allied navies with a critical edge in undersea warfare, Ultra Maritime’s family of sonobuoys elevates defense operations to a new level of performance.

Family of Scalable Radar Solutions
Building on the proven, fleet-fielded Next Generation Surface Search Radar (NGSSR), Ultra Maritime delivers compact radar solutions—down to just 18 inches in diameter—engineered to meet the tight space constraints of unmanned platforms, while providing trusted, high-performance autonomous navigation in highly contested waters.

Ultra Maritime Welcomes David Adams to Lead Unmanned and Rapid Capability Fielding Solutions

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CHANTILLY, Virginia – The undersea threat is advancing at an ever-greater pace, with quieter, stealthier, faster and more numerous threats constantly being developed. The need for innovative ways to address these threats is more important than ever, and Ultra Maritime has continued to lead the industry by investing in novel products, modernized facilities and world-leading expertise.

Ultra Maritime is pleased to announce the hire of retired Navy Captain David Adams as our newly established Vice President of Unmanned and Rapid Capability Fielding Solutions. His addition reflects Ultra Maritime’s steadfast commitments and investments to quickly meet escalating security threats head on. Adams will lead the effort to bring state-of-the-art unmanned anti-submarine warfare (ASW) solutions such as Sea Spear and Sea Tracker to the U.S. Navy and its global allied partners.

Throughout his military and civilian career, Adams led teams in the development of non-traditional sea denial warfighting concepts while overseeing highly successful global war games that were instrumental in accelerating technical solutions and informing successful rapid unmanned systems acquisitions. He also served on the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Strategic Studies Group, was Speechwriter for the CNO, and Director, Commander’s Initiatives Group, U.S. Seventh Fleet.

He is an award-winning defense and national security writer. His series of impactful articles led to his selection for the U.S. Navy League’s Alfred Thayer Mahan Award for literary achievement. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, the Naval Postgraduate School and the Royal Navy’s world-renowned “Perisher” Submarine Command Course. He currently serves as a contributing editor for the U.S. Naval Institute and on the board of the Navy Museum Development Foundation.

Ultra Maritime Showcases Next-Generation Unmanned Anti-Submarine Warfare Capabilities at the Surface Navy Association’s 2026 National Symposium

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Ultra Maritime is showcasing a wide range of unique and next generation anti-submarine warfare capabilities for attendees at this week’s Surface Navy Association’s 2026 National Symposium in Arlington, Virginia.

Portfolio highlights will include the following:

Family of Scalable Radar Solutions
The 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 and periscope detection. Based on this fleet fielded capability, Ultra Maritime offers solutions as small as 18 inches in diameter to fit within the constraints of small spaces on unmanned platforms, providing reliable and proven options for autonomous navigation in highly contested environments.

Sea Tracker
Ultra Maritime’s Sea Tracker is a self-contained towed array in a 20ft ISO container providing modular capability with ASW or torpedo defense capability on both manned and unmanned surface ships. Sea Tracker’s scalable architecture enables the seamless integration of Ultra Maritime’s family of towed sonar technologies, including torpedo defense systems, inline active/passive, and strategic surveillance arrays. This system-of-systems capability enables a rapidly deployable containerized asset, allowing navies the ability to classify, track and prosecute the stealthiest submarines in all areas of operation.

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 to ensure 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 Countermeasures
The rapid evolution of adversary torpedo technology is redefining the undersea battlespace and placing unpresented pressure on today’s naval forces. Modern torpedoes are smarter, stealthier and more lethal with advanced acoustic processing to outmaneuver decoys. Ultra Maritime’s next generation ADC MK6 is built for rapid deployment and speed, with mission-ready performance, improved acoustic output and robust compatibility that provides a trusted layer of underwater defense in high-threat environments, built upon Ultra Maritime’s world-leading expendable countermeasure technology from the ADC MK2, ADC MK3 and ADC MK4.

Ultra Maritime’s Landmark Investments Produce Industry-Leading Critical Capabilities for the U.S. Navy and its Allies

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COLUMBIA CITY, Indiana – Ultra Maritime continues to expand its market-leading, large-scale supply of essential expendables to the U.S. Navy and its allies in support of advancements of critical munitions requirements for the war stock inventory. With state-of-the-art sonobuoy technology, Ultra Maritime is not only pacing the evolving global threat environment but also reinforcing the industrial base.

Ultra Maritime has made landmark investments in new technologies, new factories and an expanded supply base. One of the new buoys now in full production is the SSQ-62G. This world-leading, U.S.-specification sonobuoy is widely exported to allied nations, with up to 20 countries currently procuring or expected to procure this buoy in the near future. Read about a recent award from the U.S. Navy here.

To meet the surging production capacity for the unprecedented quantity of sonobuoy awards, Ultra Maritime recognizes the essential role of supply chain resilience to deliver these critical products on schedule and at volume. The company’s comprehensive sourcing strategies, aggressive affordability initiatives and alignment with more than 150 trusted suppliers has created a competitive edge that supports national security and economic vitality. Ultra Maritime boasts a supply base that includes partners in 24 states across the U.S. with more than 70% being small businesses.

With increased production in its cutting-edge Columbia City factory and an expanded supply base, Ultra Maritime is proudly creating hundreds of jobs in Northeast Indiana and around the country.

Ultra Maritime Receives Delivery Order Under Fair Opportunities Procedures U.S. Navy for SSQ-62G Sonobuoys

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COLUMBIA CITY, Indiana – Ultra Maritime has been awarded a Firm Fixed Priced Delivery Order under Fair Opportunities procedures for the SSQ-62G production for the Navy in support of annual training, peacetime operations and testing expenditures, to maintain sufficient inventory to support the execution of major combat operations based on naval munitions requirements process.

“Ultra Maritime’s workforce is the backbone of our success, and we are proud to foster a strong community of dedicated and talented employees who are driving sonobuoy technology and ensuring availability, quality and cost alignment for our suppliers and customers,” said Gabe Kopin, Vice President and General Manager of the Airborne Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) line of business at Ultra Maritime. “We have developed a factory capable of meeting the demand for the most advanced detection capabilities that ensure the safety of our sailors across the globe during a time when threats are proliferating.”

Ultra Maritime has made significant investments towards creating the factory of the future with streamlined capability, configured specifically for sonobuoy production and delivery. With operations in the U.S., UK, Canada and Australia, Ultra Maritime provides advanced ASW solutions from the air, the surface and undersea, in support of international allies worldwide.

Ultra Maritime Injecting Autonomous Undersea Capabilities into Next-Generation Torpedo Countermeasure Solutions for Future Anti-Submarine Warfare Dominance

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BRAINTREE, Massachusetts – Ultra Maritime continues to advance its investment in the development of cutting-edge Next Generation Countermeasure systems — revolutionary autonomous undersea vehicles designed specifically as an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) solution.

These vehicles, both internally and externally launchable from submarines and unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs), are engineered for independent operation. Once deployed, they maneuver away from the host platform to deliver real-time tactical updates and enhanced maritime domain awareness through robust acoustic communications.

As adversary undersea threats continue to evolve in capability, countermeasure systems must adapt to keep pace with both current and emerging challenges. To effectively counter these threats, traditional approaches alone are no longer sufficient — countermeasures must advance in sophistication, autonomy and adaptability. There is now a powerful convergence of technologies: torpedo countermeasures and UUVs, themselves. This convergence represents the next phase of ASW, where countermeasure systems integrate autonomous mobility, intelligent sensing and defensive effectors to provide a resilient, layered defense against evolving torpedo threats.

Recently, Ultra Maritime proved its capability in developing a full-duplex acoustic communication node, enabling secure, two-way information exchange between manned and unmanned platforms across the maritime battlespace. This capability enhances coordination and dramatically improves platform survivability in contested and high-threat environments.

Ultra Maritime has delivered more than 30,000 expendable torpedo countermeasures across a diverse portfolio of designs, reinforcing its position as the global leader in torpedo defense solutions.

Ultra Maritime Receives Competitive Delivery Order Under Fair Opportunities Procedures U.S. Navy for SSQ-53H Sonobuoys

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COLUMBIA CITY, Indiana – Ultra Maritime has been awarded a Firm Fixed Priced Competitive Delivery Order under Fair Opportunities procedures for the SSQ-53H production for the Navy in support of annual training, peacetime operations and testing expenditures, to maintain sufficient inventory to support the execution of major combat operations based on naval munitions requirements process.

“Ultra Maritime takes great pride in playing a pivotal role in advancing anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and ensuring the safety of our sailors worldwide,” said Carlo Zaffanella, Ultra Maritime President & CEO. “We are dedicated to making great leaps in acoustic technology, providing the most advanced submarine detection capabilities during a time when threats are rapidly appearing around the globe.”

Ultra Maritime has made significant investments towards creating the factory of the future with streamlined capability and configured specifically for sonobuoy production and delivery. With operations in the U.S., UK, Canada and Australia, Ultra Maritime provides advanced ASW solutions in support of international allies across the globe. 

Ultra Maritime Leads the Future of Unmanned Anti-Submarine Warfare Solutions from the Air, Surface and Undersea

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The demand for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) has never been greater. Threat submarines proliferate and grow quieter. And international waters grow more contested.

Tackling the modern anti-submarine warfare problem requires many modalities of sensing and communication. Successful solutions must unite existing and next-generation capabilities while leveraging both manned and unmanned platforms rapidly and at scale. A distributed network across a hybrid fleet is essential to achieving maritime dominance while reducing the risk to expensive manned platforms, particularly in contested waters.  

As the leader in ASW innovation for global allied navies, Ultra Maritime recognizes the many challenges modern submarine threats pose and has invested in state-of-the-art technologies that make ASW possible across a hybrid fleet.

From the Air: Through a strategic partnership, Ultra Maritime has paired its new miniaturized receivers and half size sonobuoys, including multi-static active capabilities, with a specially adapted unmanned aerial system, allowing for double the search area and higher probability of detection.

From the Surface: The internally designed Ultra Maritime Mission Pod is a self-contained towed-array-in-a-box that provides modular capability to manned and unmanned surface ships. When deployed with a decoy array as part of a layered torpedo defense system, it can be integrated within a broader network of Ultra Maritime’s shipboard sensors, decoys and countermeasures for complete undersea situational awareness.

From Undersea: Ultra Maritime has developed Sea Spear, an entirely new ASW modality. Sea Spear is a fixed, clandestinely deployable, long endurance and attritable sonar array. Via a strategic partnership, Sea Spear deploys from unmanned underwater vehicles providing towed array-like sensitivity and detection using AI-enabled processing at the tactical edge.

At Ultra Maritime, we blend innovation and proven expertise to deliver the ASW solutions required for today’s threats and tomorrow’s advantage. What was once theoretical is now possible – Ultra Maritime is redefining the future of anti-submarine warfare.

Ultra Maritime and General Atomics Announce Strategic Partnership to Revolutionize Unmanned Airborne Anti-Submarine Warfare

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COLUMBIA CITY, Indiana – General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) and Ultra Maritime are proud to announce a strategic partnership to substantially advance the state of the art in unmanned airborne detection and tracking of enemy submarines. By combining the world’s most advanced and prolific unmanned aerial system (UAS), GA-ASI’s MQ-9B SeaGuardian®, with the world’s only miniaturized, low power sonobuoys and receivers, the strategic partnership will make it possible for the U.S. and its allies to use sophisticated techniques to track submarines in hostile, GPS-denied environments.

As adversary submarines proliferate and become stealthier, unmanned underwater vehicles grow in number and GPS jamming becomes more prevalent, the need for assured and affordable anti-submarine warfare (ASW) solutions is more critical than ever. While unmanned technologies are the clear best solution to this challenge, limitations to date in suitable ASW technologies have prevented real world solutions from emerging. This strategic partnership will provide a significant new capability where small form factor sonobuoys and receivers, aboard a long-range unmanned aircraft, can provide autonomous, low cost ASW in a GPS-denied environment.

The GA-ASI MQ-9B SeaGuardian provides unmatched multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting (ISR&T). GA-ASI will integrate the MQ-9B SeaGuardian with Ultra Maritime’s exclusive small form factor (half size) sonobuoys to double UAS capacity. These sonobuoys will provide Multi-static Active (MSA) capabilities achieving unprecedented wide-area search. Furthermore, Ultra Maritime’s new acoustic receivers will be half the traditional size, making them ideal for UAS deployment. The receivers will enable more effective ASW in GPS-denied environments and will monitor more sonobuoys per MQ-9B mission through advanced communications technology. The solution is fully funded by internal research and development, and an integrated operational demonstration of this capability will occur in the Indo Pacific and other theaters beginning in 2025.

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.