Jointly funded by Thales Australia and the Commonwealth, the multimillion-Australian-dollar facility includes a 100-metre-long production hall at Rydalmere. Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy opened the site within Thales’ existing Acoustics Centre of Excellence.
The hall is designed for the end-to-end manufacture of towed array sonar systems for Australian and export customers. These sensors help submarines, surface ships and autonomous platforms detect, track and identify underwater objects, including submarines and torpedoes.
“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. The facility is expected to create dozens of engineering and advanced manufacturing jobs over the coming years, alongside work for supply-chain partners.
The facility will supply towed array sonars for the Hunter-class frigate programme, supporting long-range submarine detection and tracking. It will also support Collins-class submarine sonar systems, extending more than 35 years of collaboration between Thales Australia, the Royal Australian Navy and Australian defence science organisations.
The production capability includes thin-line towed arrays for uncrewed maritime platforms. Thales’ BlueSentry surveillance system combines this fibre-optic sonar technology with uncrewed vessels.
“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,” said Jeff Connolly, chief executive of Thales Australia and New Zealand. “Thales Australia is proud to design and deliver high-quality sensors that return best-quality data, allowing for quicker and better decision that relate to national security.”
Rydalmere has supplied sonar technology to the Royal Australian Navy for more than three decades. Thales said the new maintenance capacity would help Australian assets spend more time at sea conducting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.
