Ultra Maritime UK is pursuing two growth vectors as it seeks to expand sonobuoy production at its new integrated design and manufacturing center in Greenford, west London.
Officially opened in September last year, the new facility – representing an investment of £20 million – forms part of a broader long-term strategic investment in facilities and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) technology across Ultra Maritime sites in Australia, Canada, the UK and the United States.
According to the company, this investment has demonstrated its “commitment and readiness to support the indigenous manufacturing goals of the UK Ministry of Defence, as well as a strong pivot towards anti-submarine warfare capabilities, recently laid out in the UK Strategic Defence Review”.
The new Greenford facility – comprising over 5,600 m2 of office space, labs and a manufacturing production floor – replaces previous premises on the same industrial park. According to the company, the new building has been designed to provide the ASW business with a custom-designed, modern and streamlined facility.
Ultra Maritime UK transferred its sonobuoy production activities to the new site in mid-2025. The company currently manufactures variants of the CAMBS, HIDAR and LOFAR sonobuoys for the Royal Navy’s (RN’s) Merlin HM2 helicopter force, and for export.
Given the additional capacity available in the new facility, Ultra Maritime is eyeing opportunities to expand production activities. One part of this is a ‘resilience and growth’ proposition, dubbed Project Nodens, which is proposing to ‘onshore’ production of sonobuoys for the Royal Air Force’s P-8A Poseidon MRA1 maritime patrol aircraft. These buoys, manufactured to Ultra Maritime’s independent design, are currently delivered from a US line.
Another vector is the development of next generation G-size multistatic active transmit and receive sonobuoys designed for deployment from uncrewed air platforms. This research and development effort, funded through the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, is primarily driven by future RN multistatic ASW requirements aligned to the Proteus rotary-wing uncrewed air system (UAS). Ultra Maritime last year signed a strategic partnering agreement with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) to integrate its G-size MSA sonobuoys, and new acoustic receivers, into GA-ASI’s MQ-9B SeaGuardian medium altitude long endurance maritime UAS.
Ultra Maritime is owned by private equity group Advent International, which acquired the Ultra Electronics group in August 2022. While many parts of the Ultra conglomerate have since been sold off, Advent has committed £120 million of investment in Ultra Maritime as it seeks to grow the business and capitalise on an upswing in demand for ASW systems and sensors.
