Defence Connect 26th October 2026 – primary source article by Robert Dougherty

Australian Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy has officially opened a new multimillion-dollar sonar manufacturing and sustainment facility in Western Sydney, to provide end-to-end manufacture and sustainment of complex towed array sonar systems for submarines, surface ships and autonomous maritime systems.

Pat Conroy, Minister for Defence Industry and Jeff Connolly CEO of Thales Australia – Photo Thales Australia

In particular, the towed array facility that is 100 metres long, will deliver Hunter Class Frigate Program Towed Array Sonars enabling long-range submarine detection and tracking while enhancing fleet survivability and maritime domain awareness; as well as Collins Class Submarine Sonar Systems, built upon more than 35 years of collaboration between Thales Australia, the Royal Australian Navy and Australian defence science organisations.

Thales Australia and the Commonwealth of Australia jointly invested in the multimillion-dollar facility at Rydalmere which has been built within the wider Thales Australia industrial infrastructure and which will be a critical piece of the supply chain for the Thales towed array system onboard the Hunter Class Frigates.

The new facility boosts Australian-made deterrence by ensuring end-to-end sovereign manufacturing capability and capacity for next-generation towed array sonar systems that support submarines and surface combatants, as well as thin-line towed arrays for uncrewed maritime systems serving both Australian and export markets. It also enables the local sustainment of these acoustic systems reducing the need for lengthy offshore maintenance periods.