Thales Australia has opened a new sonar manufacturing facility in Western Sydney, expanding Australia’s capacity to manufacture and sustain advanced acoustic systems for naval vessels and autonomous maritime platforms.
The facility, located at Rydalmere within Thales Australia’s Acoustics Centre of Excellence, was opened by Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy. Thales Australia and the Commonwealth jointly funded the multimillion-dollar Australian facility, which is designed to support the end-to-end manufacture, integration and sustainment of towed array sonar systems.
The 100-metre-long facility will support production of sonar systems for the Hunter Class Frigate Program, the Collins Class submarine fleet and BlueSentry, a next-generation surveillance capability combining sonar technology with uncrewed maritime platforms.
According to Thales, the facility will form part of Australia’s sovereign supply chain for advanced undersea acoustic systems, including towed array sonar systems intended for Australian defence and export markets.
“Through this new co-invested manufacturing facility, Australia is strengthening national security, creating high-value jobs and establishing a sovereign centre of excellence for advanced acoustic systems that will support both Australian Defence and export opportunities for decades to come,” Conroy said.
Thales said the facility would also enable the local sustainment of acoustic systems, potentially reducing the need for extended offshore maintenance periods and supporting longer deployment times for Australian naval assets.
The company said its towed array sonar technology is designed to detect, track and identify underwater objects, including submarines and torpedoes, supporting anti-submarine warfare and maritime surveillance.
Jeff Connolly, CEO of Thales Australia and New Zealand, said the facility demonstrated Australia’s capacity to develop and manufacture undersea warfare technology for current and future defence platforms.
“The capabilities developed and manufactured at Rydalmere demonstrate Australia’s ability to deliver sovereign undersea warfare technology, from the Collins Class submarine fleet of today to the Hunter Class frigates and autonomous BlueSentry surveillance systems of the future,” Connolly said.
Thales expects the facility to create dozens of direct engineering and advanced manufacturing jobs in Western Sydney over coming years, alongside employment opportunities for supply chain partners.
The company said the new facility builds on more than three decades of sonar technology support at Rydalmere for the Royal Australian Navy, including systems used on Collins Class submarines.
