Solutions News Archives

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 Reinforces Position as Premier ASW Provider with 50th SSTD System and Type 26 Expansion

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London, UK – Ultra Maritime is continuing to grow its installed base of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) solutions on some of the world’s premier warships. Recently, Ultra Maritime’s UK flagship torpedo defense suite, ‘Sea Sentor’ Surface Ship Torpedo Defense (SSTD), passed its 50th successful sea acceptance test. At the same time, the Type 26 frigate, equipped with both SSTD and Ultra Maritime’s ‘Sea Searcher’ Hull Mounted Sonar (HMS) has continued its global expansion with its selection as the basis for Norway’s next generation frigate.

Together these milestones reflect the rapid pace of expansion and fielding of Ultra Maritime’s state-of-the-art ASW solutions. This expansion comes at a time when Ultra Maritime is simultaneously investing in non-traditional ASW technologies, like the UUV-deployable Sea Spear acoustic array, and the USV-ready Mission Pod for towed arrays, evolving rapidly to meet the new demands of a hybrid fleet.

Originally developed as the Royal Navy’s Sonar S2170 system, SSTD is a versatile solution that has been fitted to a wide range of warships and auxiliaries, including aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates, tankers and support ships. The system uses sophisticated sensor-to-effector sonar technology to detect incoming torpedoes and counter them with acoustic soft-kill effectors. It is an essential protection mechanism for any capital ship.

Within the next 10 years, at least seven of the world’s leading Navies, including the Royal Australian Navy for the new Hunter Class Frigates and the Royal Canadian Navy for the new River Class Destroyers, will be relying on this system to counter torpedo threats and another 30 ships will be protected by this essential capability.

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 to Deliver Unparallelled Advanced Anti-Submarine Warfare Capabilities to Netherlands and Belgium

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DARTMOUTH, Canada – Ultra Maritime will deliver its most advanced, high-performance sonar suite for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) to the Royal Netherlands Navy and the Belgian Navy. The $200 (CAD) million contract will equip the surface fleets’ newest vessels with a powerful combination of sensors that provide unparallelled ASW and torpedo defense capabilities optimized for both deep water and littoral operations, ensuring the ability to detect even the quietest submarines and torpedo threats in the harshest of environments.

The Low-Frequency Active Passive Sonar (LFAPS) system combines Ultra Maritime’s world leading towed array sonar products – the Sea Lancer in-line and Sea Sabre towed body variable depth sonars (VDS). The system is optimized to provide enhanced operational performance and user operability through the employment of advanced health monitoring algorithms, reducing through life costs. Ultra Maritime boasts the world’s only combination of an in-line Horizontal Projector Array with a conventional towed body, providing unmatched performance and flexibility in any maritime theater of operation.  

Together with Dutch Materiel and IT Command (COMMIT), Ultra Maritime is committed to providing global allies solutions for the rapidly evolving threat environment. The Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s (ISED) Industrial Technological Benefits (ITB) policy have played a pivotal role for Ultra Maritime in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, to foster economic growth and technological innovation in Canada. Furthermore, Ultra Maritime is committed to strengthening the Dutch defense knowledge and industrial base and will fulfill Dutch offset obligations through initiatives that deliver long-term value and capability to the Netherlands.

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.

French Navy Atlantique 2 Maritime Patrol Aircraft

Ultra Maritime to Enhance ASW capabilities of Marine Nationale in France

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COLUMBIA CITY, Ind. – Ultra Maritime continues to expand its growing list of customers for the next generation of sonobuoy technologies, and is proud to announce a significant multi-product award from Thales Group in support of Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA), the French Government’s defense procurement and technology agency. DGA will be procuring both active and passive sonobuoys, including some of the latest technologies from Ultra Maritime’s new U.S. production lines, that together will provide significant anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities.

As undersea domain awareness becomes increasingly critical, and submarine and uncrewed threats more and more stealthy, enhancements in sonobuoy performance make the difference between detecting an undersea threat and missing it. Following several years of development and recapitalization, Ultra Maritime now offers multiple fully qualified, volume production sonobuoys manufactured in plants in the U.S., Canada and UK, that together address the world’s most demanding ASW needs. Ultra Maritime, through Thales, will provide the Marine nationale with an enhanced ASW capability and an increased probability of detection of undersea threats.

Ultra Maritime will be supplying newly designed and qualified U.S.-built AN/SSQ 62E DICASS and AN/SSQ 53G DIFAR sonobuoys. These sonobuoys offer significant performance improvements and are equipped with cutting-edge battery technology which nearly doubles the operational life of the active sonobuoys and augments their acoustic output, while providing precise detection, localization and classification, ensuring reliability of outcomes in critical defense operations. Ultra Maritime will also supply G-size AN/SSQ 536G Bathythermal buoys from its Canadian site in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. G-size sonobuoys deliver advanced sonobuoy technology in a more compact form, ideal for rotary wing and Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) operations where minimizing payload dimensions and mass are important factors.

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.