Uncategorized News Archives

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 Showcases Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Improved Anti-Submarine Warfare Mission Effectiveness at the Combined Naval Event 2025

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With the increase in submarine stealthiness and quantity of unmanned platforms, the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) mission is more important than ever to maintain maritime dominance. At the Combined Naval Event in Farnborough, UK, next week, Ultra Maritime will present its unique technology using Artificial Intelligence (AI) as more than just a passive classifier, but rather used at every stage of the ASW command chain including detection, localization, tracking and automated tactical decision making. Not only can this increase the effectiveness of manned vessels, but can significantly increase the level of autonomy of unmanned vehicles.  

Along with a presentation on this leading AI use, Ultra Maritime will showcase the following at its booth #D36:

Sea Spear – New Lightweight Deployable Sonar
Introduced to the world at Sea Air Space 2025 and being used in partnership with Anduril’s Seabed Sentry to communicate critical subsea information in real time, Ultra Maritime will highlight Sea Spear, a first-of-its-kind lightweight deployable sonar system that enhances submarine detection capabilities rapidly and inexpensively. Sea Spear provides a solution for long endurance and long-range surveillance capability and threat monitoring during a time when anti-submarine warfare matters more than ever. Deployable from manned or unmanned 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.

Next Generation Sonobuoys
Ultra Maritime is delivering a new generation of sonobuoys, making 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. The new buoys will revolutionize submarine detection technology with unprecedented predictability and detection capabilities, 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 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.

WHEN: May 20-22, 2025

WHERE: Booth #D36, Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre

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.

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.

Ultra Maritime Highlights Airborne Capabilities at the Avalon Australian International Airshow

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ADELAIDE, South Australia – The Avalon Australian International Airshow will provide the perfect backdrop for Ultra Maritime to showcase emerging and existing airborne Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) and Electronic Warfare capabilities. Stop by the South Australia Defence Stand in Hall 3 at booth 3M25 to learn more about the following:

Next Generation Sonobuoys
Ultra Maritime’s next generation SSQ-53 and SSQ-62 sonobuoys are fully qualified per U.S. Navy standards and are currently used by allied navies globally. These new buoys are in production and Ultra Maritime is currently accepting orders for rapid delivery. With updated underlying technology and an improved supply chain, the company is positioned to provide sonobuoys at a production rate that meets the increasing global demand. While offering a full range of sonobuoys, Ultra Maritime is also the only manufacturer of G size sonobuoys (half-size) used internationally, as well as sonobuoy receivers.  

Electronic Warfare
Avalon 2025 will also provide an opportunity for Ultra Maritime to showcase its Electronic Warfare (EW) Systems which are in service in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Royal Australia Airforce (RAAF). These capabilities enable informed critical decision-making in the ever evolving and increasingly complex electromagnetic threat landscape.

Unmanned System Payloads
Ultra Maritime continues to invest in next-generation Electronic Warfare capability based upon the proven and in-service digital receiver systems and has scaled this capability for use on small, unmanned platforms. This provides an ability to share data across both manned and unmanned networks while providing search, collection and other classified mission capabilities.

“Ultra Maritime is committed to supplying the very best sonobuoy capability to deliver world-class undersea warfare solutions,” said Mark Potter, Vice President and General Manager of Ultra Maritime Australia. “Our expertise in sonar, radar and electronic warfare, and torpedo defense will provide best-in-class capabilities within the maritime domain and position the business well to support the AUKUS pillars.”

Ultra Maritime Australia to Provide World Leading Sonar on Hunter Class Frigates

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ADELAIDE, South Australia – The Royal Australian Navy’s Hunter class frigates will be fitted with Ultra Maritime’s world-leading 2150 Bow Sonar under a contract with BAE Systems Maritime Australia (BAESMA). The delivery of the 2150 Bow Sonar will expand Australian sovereign undersea warfare capabilities, providing active and passive anti-submarine warfare (ASW) modes, mine and obstacle avoidance sonar, integrated underwater communications, and automated torpedo detection, classification and localization.

“Ultra Maritime is committed to building a strategic partnership with the Commonwealth of Australia, as we continue to invest and grow our support to the Royal Australian Navy fleet with delivery of world-class undersea warfare solutions,” said Mark Potter, Vice President and General Manager of Ultra Maritime Australia. “Our expertise in sonar, radar and electronic warfare, and torpedo defense will provide best-in-class capabilities within the maritime domain.”

Ultra Maritime has operated in Australia for more than 15 years, expanding from its indigenous electronic warfare capability to establish a sovereign sonar sustainment solution to support its Integrated Sonar System (ISS), as installed on the Hobart class air warfare destroyers (DDG). As Ultra Maritime’s Australian workforce continues to grow, we will continue to work closely with local industry to further maximize opportunities for Australian industry to assist with the Bow Sonar capability.

Ultra Maritime Collaborates with University of Liverpool to Develop Artificial Intelligence for Passive Sonar

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London, U.K. – Ultra Maritime is pleased to announce a collaboration with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Distributed Algorithms at the University of Liverpool, a UK Research and Innovation funded programme. The research focuses on using machine learning to improve the tracking and detection of vessels using passive sonar, targeted at Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) and Torpedo Defence applications.

The initial work has shown promising results in improving the detection performance compared to traditional processing techniques, allowing Operators and Automatic Classifiers to extract signals from further into the noise as well as improving tracking performance.

“We are very excited to further develop our relationship with the University of Liverpool, who are recognized leaders in Autonomy and Distributed Algorithms,” said Andrew Anderson, Ultra Maritime Chief Technology Officer. “AI/ML technologies will provide disruptive benefits to many aspects of the ASW mission, and we are looking forward to rapidly transitioning this exciting research into Ultra Maritime’s portfolio of ASW and Torpedo Defense systems.”

Professor Simon Maskell, Director of the CDT at the University of Liverpool, commented: “The CDT seeks to train students to become future leaders with a valuable combination of skills that is otherwise hard to find in a single person. Indeed, we aim to help those students acquire a synergistic understanding of both next-generation AI/ML and future computing together with a well-honed ability to solve pressing real-world problems. It is a real pleasure to see one of those students capitalizing on the training environment provided by the CDT to work closely in partnership with Ultra Maritime to make a difference in this important context.”

Ultra Maritime prides itself on investing in the future of undersea warfare solutions for allied navies worldwide. This collaboration continues to build on those investments, providing next-generation, technologically advanced AI/ML solutions for maritime domain dominance.

Ultra Maritime Signs Contract for Co-Production of U.S. Sonobuoys in India

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The initial contract between Ultra Maritime and Bharat Dynamics Limited supports production planning at Bharat Dynamics’ Visakhapatnam facility.

COLUMBIA CITY, Indiana – The contract between Ultra Maritime and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) signifies a concrete step forward in the co-production of U.S. sonobuoys in India, an initiative first announced by the White House in January of this year. Ultra Maritime and BDL have signed a Production Planning contract which will kick start the transfer of technology from the U.S. to India of U.S.-specification sonobuoys for use on India’s Maritime Patrol Aircraft, the P-8I, MH-60R and MQ-9B Sea Guardian platforms.

The work between the two companies is already well underway. BDL has made significant investments at its site in Visakhapatnam, with production and testing halls ready for the new lines. This initial contract will fund the two companies’ discussions on potential supply chain partners, requirements for production equipment, optimal production line layouts, testing processes and quality control.

Ultra Maritime, a world-leader in the design and production of undersea warfare capabilities, has partnered with BDL to supply and manufacture sonobuoys for the Indian Navy to U.S. Navy standards, with production split across the U.S. and India, in accordance with ‘Make in India’ principles. This first-of-its-kind partnership will enhance undersea domain awareness efforts for both navies, in support of the U.S.-India Bilateral Undersea Domain Awareness initiative. Production will start in 2027.

Combining Ultra Maritime’s U.S. technology and production expertise with BDL’s Indian manufacturing track record and supply chain reach shows how U.S. and Indian industry can team rapidly to respond to undersea threats in the Indo-Pacific region. Ultra Maritime’s new generation sonobuoys represent a step forward in the consistent, worldwide supply of Anti-Submarine Warfare capabilities.

“We are proud to follow up on recent announcements to share that our first contract with BDL has been formalized. This step indicates the level of investment both parties are making to ensure timely delivery of world class sonobuoys, made in India,” said Ultra Maritime President and CEO, Carlo Zaffanella.   

“Bharat Dynamics Limited has signaled its intent to invest with Ultra Maritime in the signing of this contract. Not only have we prepared our site for new production lines, but the output of the Production Planning contract will give us greater confidence in building sonobuoys in India. BDL will continue to meet the operational demands of the Indian Navy while enhancing Indian self-reliance in defence capabilities,” added Chairman of BDL Commodore (ret) A. Madhavarao.

Ultra Maritime hosts Royal Canadian Navy group

Ultra Maritime Hosts Royal Canadian Navy

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Ultra Maritime had the pleasure of hosting Commodore Trevor MacLean, Capt(N) Mike Stefanson, Chief Petty Officer First Class Cavel Shebib, and CANFLTLANT Staff for a discussion on Ultra Maritime’s world-leading sonar technology. UM is the world’s premier provider of undersea warfare systems, products and solutions, delivering advanced technologies that create maritime operational advantages. This visit included a tour of our newly expanded Dartmouth facility which houses Sonobuoy production and our new Towed Array Sonar ‘Center of Excellence’.

UM invests heavily in Atlantic Canada and creates skilled jobs for a growing workforce in the Aerospace & Defense Sector.