Thales Australia has been awarded a $100 million contract to design a major sonar system upgrade for the Collins class submarines.

Thales is set to engage other Australia-based companies including SONARTECH ATLAS and L-3 Oceania, as well as suppliers from the UK and France, stated Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne.

“The sonar system upgrade will install improved sonar sensor arrays aboard each of the Collins submarines, as well as improved signal-processing systems,” said Minister Pyne.

The Australian industry component of the contract is worth in the order of $50 million.

“The Collins class sonars have proven very effective over many years, and now we are preparing for the upgrade to ensure they remain at the forefront of sensing performance,” said Chris Jenkins, Thales Australia chief executive officer.

The legacy cylindrical array will be replaced with a modular cylindrical array based on technology developed by Thales teams based in the UK, while the existing flank array is set to be replaced by the latest-generation flank array from Thales teams in France.