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Ultra Awarded Canadian Surface Combatant Subcontract to Provide Hull-Mounted Sonar
February 19, 2021 | Ultra ElectronicsEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Ultra is delighted to announce a contract award to commence work on the S2150-C Hull-Mounted Sonar (HMS) system for the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) program. This award comes soon after Ultra’s recent award of a contract to provide the CSC Variable Depth Sonar (VDS). These subcontracts move the development of CSC’s anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capability from the program definition phase into the substantive manufacture and delivery of the vessels’ suite of sonars.
The Ultra HMS selected for CSC is part of the world’s most advanced HMS product family, with a level of operational performance that meets stringent Canadian technical requirements. Additionally, its innovative design provides significant ship design advantages as well as logistical benefits and cost-savings in the maintenance and upgrade of the system through its operational life.
The S2150-C HMS system is a prime example of the inward technology transfer and sovereign capability that the CSC program is building for Canada. The system was originally designed for the UK Type 26 platform, meaning it is optimized for the vessel design that has been selected for the CSC program. This technology will now be transferred to Canada, with Canadian workers and Canadian suppliers being skilled up to provide significant material elements of the system, as well as to conduct design customization, system integration, installation, acceptance and in-country support. Furthermore, due to the same HMS system family being present on the UK program as well as the Australian Hunter Class frigate program, Canadian suppliers will have the opportunity to be considered as suppliers to these programs, thus lifting the export potential Canadian industry as a result of CSC.
More broadly, Ultra is proud that its work on the CSC program is proving to be an important vector for growth of Canadian jobs, innovation and investment. In the two years since having been originally awarded program definition studies for CSC, working in close partnership with Lockheed Martin Canada and Irving Shipbuilding Inc, Ultra’s Canadian team has grown by over 150 employees, with another 80 high-tech roles expected to be made available in 2021 alone.
The program is also triggering major Canadian investment decisions by Ultra in terms of facilities, inward technology transfer and research partnerships which will be announced through the course of 2021. Overall, Ultra’s role on CSC is a very good example of the Industrial and Technological Benefits that the program is providing to Canada, and of the enduring impact that the program will have on sovereign naval capability for the nation.
Isabel Tassé, Ultra’s Senior Program Manager for CSC, noted, “I am very proud to be leading Ultra’s team in the delivery of the CSC sonar suite. We are providing the Royal Canadian Navy with a world-leading capability in anti-submarine warfare, and at the same time bringing technologies, jobs, innovation and investment into Canada. Alongside our partners on the CSC program – most notably Irving Shipbuilding Inc. and Lockheed Martin – we are laying the foundation for a sustained sovereign naval capability for the nation”.
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