Thales
Australia has signed a major contract with the Defence Materiel Organisation
to deliver a significant update to the Royal Australian Navy’s
submarine sonar systems.
The company will address obsolescence issues on the Collins class Scylla
sonar, boosting the reliability of a system that was initially designed
over a quarter of a century ago. Specifically, the project will replace
existing equipment in the Scylla Signal Processing Cabinets with modern
Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) components, and also re-host the software. |
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Implementing
the new technology will result in a system requiring less than 20% of
the number of processing racks currently used, as well as significantly
fewer processing boards than its predecessor. Industry-standard COTS
boards will replace bespoke originals, making the system easier to maintain
and providing enhanced reliability.
The resulting COTS-based system will benefit from a reduced through
life cost and will deliver substantial power savings, together with
a weight saving of more than a tonne. The growth potential within the
new system will also provide the opportunity for the RAN to significantly
enhance its sonar detection capability in the future.
Thales Australia CEO Chris Jenkins said: “The Collins Class submarines
have a very capable sonar suite, but time has moved on and we are now
leveraging advances in technology to deliver an important update that
will treat obsolescence and result in substantial space, power and weight
savings.
“We have invested over many years and built a significant level
of submarine sonar expertise in Australia, starting on the Collins in
the 1980s, and then leveraging this on other naval platforms. This is
deep technical expertise of international standing. Having this capability
in country enables us to provide these kinds of updates economically,
quickly and at low risk.”
The vast majority of the update work will be performed at Thales Australia’s
underwater systems facility in Rydalmere, western Sydney. The update
will be physically installed in the first of six submarines in 2014
following trials at sea in 2013. |
