Thales to deliver sonar suite for future Dutch submarine fleet

PARIS — French defense-electronics maker Thales won a contract to supply the entire sonar and acoustics suite for the Royal Netherlands Navy Orka-class submarine fleet to be built by Naval Group, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

The submarine sonar contract is the first in 15 years for Thales outside its core underwater markets of France, the U.K., the U.S. and Australia, said Emmanuel Michaud, vice president for submarines and surface vessels at Thales. The sensor suite for the four Dutch submarines will form the basis for Thales’s export offer for other upcoming submarine programs, he said.