Sea Spear was used to detect underwater targets passively, while the SSQ-125B provided active localization. Ultra Maritime said the demonstration marked a step toward validating an acoustic architecture intended to provide persistent surveillance in contested maritime environments.
The system forms part of Ultra Maritime’s “Ocean of Things” concept, which envisions a distributed network of autonomous underwater sensors. Those sensors could be deployed from crewed and uncrewed platforms to provide a continuous, real-time picture of the undersea operating environment.
Ultra Maritime is positioning the architecture for a range of surveillance and protection missions. These include ports, critical infrastructure, maritime choke points, expeditionary operations and long-duration monitoring of strategically important waterways.
The SSQ-125B is the active component at the center of the architecture and represents the company’s latest generation of active sonobuoy technology. Ultra Maritime describes it as the only active sonobuoy of its kind and said the system is designed and manufactured exclusively by the company.
The SSQ-125B is intended to improve active detection and localization while complementing Sea Spear’s persistent passive sensing capability. Combining the two systems is designed to extend the range and persistence of autonomous anti-submarine warfare and counter-UUV operations.
The Lanternfish demonstration also tested the two sensors as elements of a broader distributed detection architecture rather than as standalone systems. Ultra Maritime said the approach is designed to support scalable surveillance networks across larger and more complex maritime operating areas.
The company sees the integrated active-passive architecture as a foundation for future autonomous undersea surveillance missions. The U.S. Navy exercise provided a test environment for demonstrating how Sea Spear and SSQ-125B can work together to detect and localize unmanned underwater vehicles.
