The UK Government has confirmed that Australia will equip its Hunter-class frigates with the Thales 2087 sonar system, a move set to contribute around £45 million to the UK economy, according to the Foreign Office.
The Sonar 2087, manufactured in the United Kingdom by Thales Underwater Systems, is a towed array sonar system that replaces the older Sonar 2031 in the Royal Navy. It equips a number of Type 23 frigates and is also set to feature on the Royal Navy’s new Type 26 frigates currently under production. A low-frequency active sonar (LFAS) system, the 2087 consists of both active and passive sonar arrays.
Thales describes the Sonar 2087 as a system that enables “frigates to hunt the latest submarines at considerable distances and locate them beyond the range at which they [submarines] can launch an attack”.
The sonar has already proven its operational capabilities during major exercises like Auriga 2010, where HMS Sutherland, the first British ship equipped with the system, successfully acted as the Anti-Submarine Warfare Commander during multinational drills involving British, American, Canadian, and French naval forces.
In October 2022, the UK launched a programme named Spearhead to modernise the Sonar 2087 further. The enhancements will include new active and passive variable depth sonar capabilities to ensure continued superiority in anti-submarine warfare.
The decision to integrate this advanced British system onto Australia’s Hunter-class frigates reflects the deepening strategic defence cooperation between the two nations.
According to a Foreign Office statement, “The UK and Australia are also developing strategic undersea warfare cooperation. Australia will equip its Hunter Class frigates with Thales’ world-leading 2087 sonar. This will see both the UK and Australia working together to develop underwater capability and share information. This will contribute around £45 million to the UK economy, supporting economic growth.”
The Hunter-class frigates, based on the Type 26 design, are a cornerstone of Australia’s naval modernisation programme.
The announcement comes alongside other initiatives revealed at the summit, including the deployment of the UK Carrier Strike Group to Australia in 2025 and the creation of a new AUKUS submarine programme office in Bristol.
The AUKMIN summit, held annually since 2006, serves as a platform for the UK and Australia to strengthen cooperation in defence, security, and foreign policy. This year’s summit highlighted not only the two nations’ growing alignment on military strategy but also their joint efforts to advance clean energy and regional resilience, further reinforcing their historic and strategic partnership.
I dont understand why they messed around with the type 26 design so much. Wouldnt it have been better to keep it as 9 ASW frigates without the huge radar and then buy some dedicated air defence destroyers? Instead theyve got a tier1/2 system where 6 ships have to somehow do all ASW and air defence because the tier 2 ships arent capable of high end anything
They expect their ships to operate as singletons.
Whereas RN thinks of CSG type action.
Problem is that RAN Massive isn’t optimised for any particular task….so is less than cutting edge at any of them.
I agree I’d prefer the RN approach as long as FFBNW is finally parked.
In reality I’m not completely sure the RN have not scrimped to much on each ships secondary capabilities. The reality is the FREMMS show how a top end ASW platform can also have a very competitive long range AAW capability and even ABM capabilities.. so you can build a 6500 ton warship that’s a top end ASW platform that also adds a very good long range AAW radar and 32 long range anti air missiles.. you can also build a top end AAW destroyer that has at least some ability to either manage it’s own ASW defence or provided support to the ASW screen of a task group.
What you cannot do is build a 7000-10000 ton do everything top end, the really is they can do one thing as a gold plated top end and the secondary capability needs to be limited in some way. It’s just I think the RN limits to much…T45 and T31 not having any ASW capabilities is a big mistake in the modern world..and I think limiting T26 air defence to short range is also a bit of an issue.
A bit of a pity there isn’t a discussion about replacing the radars on T31 and T26. I know Artisan has secret sauce and all that, but surely there are more effective means of providing the niche ASW help while also getting much better anti air range?
CEAFAR, for example. We don’t have to have the full Hunter configuration, but a lighter version using the X-band panels would still be a huge advantage over the NS100 or Artisan without breaking the bank or the ship’s back.
I believe if you search “Type 31 CEAFAR Shipbucket”, concepts have even been mocked up for T31 using CEAFAR in various arrangements.
Japanese and Italians manage to have dual band radars in their combatants.
It probably shows how keen they were to get their CEAFAR Radar System on to as many Platforms as possible. When they are built they should be Capable Ships.
Australia seems to be pretty standard in wanting ships with multi-role capabilities instead focusing on specialist capabilities.
They already have 3 Air Warfare destroyers in the Hobart class, but the Hobarts are also multi-role with full ASW suites, and can now launch Tomahawk, and NSM, as well the air defense weapons they carry (SM-2, SM-6, and ESSM). The Hunters will be ASW focused, but will also be fully capable multi-role ships in strike and AAW.
Putting advanced radars on the latest classes of warships seems to be a standard trend at the moment. Other then the Type 26, are there any other new free-world frigate designs building right now that have a rotating main radar?
Type 31 🙄.
My bad, I forgot about the Type 31…
It’s fine if you just replace T26…with RN frigates then it works….
Multirole is fair enough but there are other reasonably decent radars they could have added instead without having to change half the ship to accommodate ceafar
Fitting the CEAFAR radar was always part of the RAN’s specification and all of the competing designers new that from the get go and confirmed their designs could accommodate CEAFAR throughout the different stages of the tendering process. If they couldn’t accommodate the radar, the T26 design should not have been bid. IIRC the T26 was touted as a Global Combat Ship that could be tailored to individual navy’s requirements.
It is no different to the UK specifying UK designed/built systems and sensors to support and promote local defence industries. In any case the CEAFAR is a cutting edge system.
Not a frigate but given her need for long range detection: QEC.
It is simple, they want a multi mission ship not one trick ponies that only RN makes. Which do not make any sense in a small navy like RN of today.
Note that even US with a huge Navy do not make one trick ponies except the LCS which they consider a failure.
The RAN’s original intention was to replace the Anzac Class frigates with the Hunter (T26) which would have seen a fleet of 12 surface combatants (9 Hunters + 3 Hobarts). The recent review of the RAN has seen a shift to a RN style two tier fleet which will now comprise 9 Tier 1 (3 Hobarts + 6 Hunters) and 11 Tier 2 frigates for a total surface combat fleet of 20 hulls – 8 more than originally planned.
For all intents and purpose the Tier 1 frigates will become the actual Anzac replacements but will be greater in number (11 versus 8), larger in tonnage (either 4,800 tonnes Japanese Mogami or 4,700 tonnes German Meko A210 – the final two down selected designs) and more heavily armed (32 VLS cells and up to 16 NSM cannister launchers).
The Hunters are larger in tonnage than the Hobarts and in Australian service will effectively multipurpose destroyers in all but name, being be able to launch all of the RANs now upgraded weapons including Tomahawk, NSM, SM2 Block IIIC, SM3 and SM6. The Tier 1 classes will be multi role and capable of AAW, ASuW and ASW but each optimised differently – the Hobarts biased towards air defence including ABM capability and the Hunters towards ASW.
There is also the potential to upgrade the Arafura Class OPVs with NSM (Brunei’s Lursen designed OPVs have antiship missiles fitted) and/or shipping container based Mark 70 Mod 1 Payload Delivery System (PDS). The USN has test fired a SM-3 Block IA anti-ballistic missile from the flight deck of one its Littoral Combat Ships which successfully engaged a ballistic target using offboard sensor data. While the OPVs won’t have the sensor suite needed they have a flight deck and can act as ‘arsenal ships’ using secure datalinks to hand off targeting data from Tier1/Tier2 ships.
Austal has also proposed adding a quad NSM launcher to the RANs existing small Cape Class patrol boats which would be lethal in the littoral and island archipelagos to Australia’s north – a modern day equivalent of the WWII MTB/PT boats.
This mix of surface warfare combants, which may not be what was originally planned but which are now more tailored to Australia’s needs in the Indo-Pacific, is a huge step forward in terms of the RAN’s combat lethality. We just need to get on with an build them ASAP.
Oops – Should read ‘ For all intents and purposes the Tier 2 frigates will become the Anzac replacements”
Interesting. The 2087 swap-out from T23 to T26 was one of the excuses given for the low production rate of the T26.
Now we discover the Hunter class are getting them, which must mean new builds are available.
Another Government lie.
The Aussies are building them theirselves in their own shipyard, they are just buuilding the sonars for them here which they are paying for “45million on I the economy”
Is any allied navy, eligible to acquire the Thales 2087 sonar system, seriously considering an alternative? Would seem to have a monopolistic market position, w/ a very wide and deep surrounding moat. 🤔😉
Thales are iirc, ffffffFrench, nuff said?
Strictly speaking, they did inherit IPs when they bought Thomson Marconi Sonar.
Interestingly the Canadians are going with a towed array from Ultra Electronics for their River class Type 26 variant.
The headline is a tad misleading. The 2087 = the Thales CAPTAS 4. I think they are produced in France?
I believe that sonar cannot identify friend of foe