Thales, a long-standing partner of both Naval Group and the Royal Netherlands Navy, will provide a comprehensive suite of high-performance sonar systems for the future Orka-class of submarines that will replace the Walrus-class vessels in service today. The contract will provide the submarines with a comprehensive picture of the underwater acoustic environment, helping the Netherlands to guarantee operational superiority.
Thales press release
The sonar suite features high-performance acoustic sensors, including bow, flank and obstacle-avoidance sonars, an intercept array, a passive towed-array sonar, an underwater voice communication system, an echo-sounder and signal processing racks. This cohesive suite of equipment will provide an unprecedented panoramic view of the underwater environment, making it possible to detect, locate and classify all types of threats at short, medium and long range across a wide range of frequencies.
“The highly capable Thales sonar suite was a key component of Naval Group’s bid for this programme, and will make a significant
Sylvain Perrier, Replacement Netherlands Submarine Capability Programme Director for Naval Group
contribution to the acoustic superiority of the Orka-class submarines. We know we can count on Thales to meet the demanding requirements of the COMMIT and to work hand in hand with Dutch industry on the Replacement Netherlands Submarine Capability programme.”
This programme is an opportunity for Thales to align with the Dutch government’s policy of support and empowerment of strategic national industries. It will consolidate the company’s engagement with the naval defence ecosystem in the Netherlands, within the framework of the RNSC programme, as illustrated by a recent contract with the Dutch company Optics11, to use its OptiArray technology in the passive towed-array sonar.
“We are proud that Thales’s advanced sonar suite has been selected to equip the Royal Netherlands Navy’s Okra-class submarines. This partnership will enhance the technological superiority of the Dutch armed forces, and reflects our ongoing commitment to providing innovative, dependable solutions in support of the defence capabilities of allied nations,” said Sébastien Guérémy, Vice President, Underwater Systems, Thales.
Naval News comments:
This major contract (value: >100M euros) is the first submarine sonar suite export contract in 15 years. Speaking in a media call ahead of the announcement, Emmanuel Michaud, VP Sonar Systems at Thales, said this is the most comprehensive sonar suite Thales can deliver to a customer. “Anything related to a sonar acoustic system is delivered by Thales in this program”.
“As far as the platform is concerned, obviously, the sonar suite that will be delivered [to the Netherlands] is highly derived from our developments made on the French Suffren-class SSN […] While we are still working on the last three submarines of the Suffren-class, we are starting this new contract, so it is an incremental development […] We keep improving our product coming from the French program with this export contract submarine with very tough requirements from the Dutch navy.”
Emmanuel Michaud, VP Sonar Systems at Thales
“The flank array sonar is very specific to the Dutch contract” Michaud added, “it will be a double line of flank arrays, it will be a very very powerful flank array system”.
About Orka-class program
The Orka-class program was officially launched in September 2024 when Dutch State Secretary for Defence and the CEO of Naval Group signed the Delivery Agreement for the Replacement Netherlands Submarine Capability program. Naval Group will deliver His Majesty’s Orka and Zwaardvis within 10 years from the signing of the contract. The other submarines, the Barracuda and the Tijgerhaai, will follow thereafter. According to the Dutch MoD, the Orka-class submarines will provide the Royal Netherlands Navy’s Submarine Service with a significant advantage in future underwater combat scenarios.
Naval Group, Saab and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems were in December 2019 shortlisted to compete to supply four boats to replace the Royal Netherlands Navy’s four ageing Walrus-class submarines. Naval Group was offering a conventional variant of its Barracuda design known as Blacksword; Saab’s business area Kockums, teamed with Damen, was proposing the C718: An enlarged expeditionary derivative of the A26 submarine being built for the Royal Swedish Navy; and ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems has bid an evolved ‘Expeditionary’ variant of the Class 212CD design already ordered by Germany and Norway.
