Click here - to select or create a menu

Naval News

DSEI Japan 2023
  • News
  • Event News
    • SNA 2023
    • Euronaval 2022
    • Indo Pacific 2022
    • Sea Air Space 2022
    • DIMDEX 2022
  • Interviews
  • Videos
  • Advertising
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
Home» News»Leonardo’s acoustic sub hunter technology adds dipping sonar in new demo
Leonardo’s acoustic sub hunter technology adds dipping sonar in new demo
Leonardo image

Leonardo’s acoustic sub hunter technology adds dipping sonar in new demo

Designed to listen for submarines using advanced acoustic technology, Leonardo’s ULISSES ensures that the sea is no place to hide. The addition of the new Firefly dipping sonar system from L3Harris Technologies brings additional range and accuracy to the ULISSES package.

Naval News Staff 21 Dec 2020

For the demo the combined system was installed on a naval vessel while an Italian Navy NH-90 supported by dispensing sonobuoys.

Leonardo press release

Leonardo has recently proven the newly-expanded capabilities of its ULISSES acoustic anti-submarine warfare (ASW) system in a demonstration off the coast of Italy. During the demo, Leonardo showed how the Firefly,AQS-18, dipping sonar from L3Harris Technologies worked in concert with the ULISSES processor to automatically locate simulated enemy submarines and alert the crew to their presence.

The demonstration follows the successful integration of the Firefly dipping sonar with the ULISSES system. Firefly incorporates a high-powered active sonar which can dive down up to 200m below the sea surface and detect targets as far away as 20 miles while transmitting sonar and sonobuoy processing, audio and video to the shore via a wideband data link.

For the demo, the ULISSES and Firefly equipment was installed on a naval vessel while an Italia n Na vy NH-90 helicopter supported by dispensing sonobuoys during the trial. A key design feature of the ULISSES/Firefly system is its lightweight form factor, which can also be fitted to small, light helicopters for littoral operations. The integrated capabilities shown in the demo represent a solution to the g rowin g requirement from armed forces to conduct ASW operations in blue and shallow waters.

Observers on-board the command ship were able to watch on an operator’s screen as ULISSES combined inputs from the Firefly dipping sonar with data from active and passive sonobuoys to automatically locate potential contacts and raise alerts. The ULISSES and Firefly systems offer ‘multistatic’ functionality where the processors collect and exploit data from up to 64 distributed dipping sonar and sonobuoy sensors, using the multiple sources of information to accurately triangulate the location of enemy submarines.

ULISSES was introduced to the market at Farnborough Air Show in 2018 and was successfully demonstrated in a live sea trial in November 2019. The system is now fully developed and talks a r e o n-going with a range of potential launch customers.

The successor to Leonardo’s well-regarded OTS-90 acoustic system for Italian and Dutch NH-90 helicopters, ULISSES provides highly-advanced capabilities in an even more lightweight package . T h is makes it ideally suited to smaller helicopters and is designed as a form-fit replacement for the OT S-90 , making it an attractive proposition for the retrofit market. The system is also suitable for fixed-wing aircraft, naval vessels and, without the dipping sonar, drone aircraft.

Leonardo Sonar 2020-12-21
Tags Leonardo Sonar
Facebook Twitter Stumble linkedin Pinterest More

Authors

Posted by : Naval News Staff

Related Articles

Thales Started Production of CAPTAS-4 Sonar for US Navy

Thales Started Production of CAPTAS-4 Sonar for US Navy

Richard Scott 14 Jan 2023
Thales has confirmed that the US Navy’s FFG-62 Constellation-class frigate is to be equipped with its CAPTAS-4 low-frequency VDS.
Germany selects Leonardo’s LIONFISH 12.7 mm gun for F126 frigates

Germany selects Leonardo’s LIONFISH 12.7 mm gun for F126 frigates

Naval News Staff 22 Dec 2022
Leonardo's LIONFISH 12.7 Top defense systems have been chosen to equip the German Navy's F126 new class frigates.
LIG Nex1 to provide Ultra-thin Linear Sensors for Submarines

LIG Nex1 to provide Ultra-thin Linear Sensors for Submarines

Juho Lee 09 Dec 2022
LIG Nex1 has won a contract to provide “ultra-thin” linear sensors to the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Legal / Privacy Policy
About Us
Contact Us

Copyright © 2022 Naval News
All Rights Reserved