Italian Navy selects Thales Sonar 2093 for upgrade

摘要

Thales UK is to supply its Sonar 2093 variable-depth minehunting sonar for the upgrade of the Italian Navy's eight Gaeta-class minehunt-ers, writes Richard Scott.rnIntermarine, prime contractor for the mid-life update programme, awarded Thales a contract worth GBP100 million (USD1 65 million) on 18 November covering the supply of eight Sonar 2093 ship systems. The majority of the manufacturing work will be undertaken at Thales UK's site in Templecombe, Somerset, with some additional elements of production undertaken by Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei.rnOriginally developed for the UK Royal Navy's (RN's) Sandown-class single-role minehunters, Sonar 2093 is capable of search-and-classification operations throughout the water column at depths down to around 200 m.rnThe system has already been exported to the navies of Australia, Estonia, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Turkey.rnSonar 2093, which features two search and three classification frequencies that can be employed to match the prevailing threat and environment, will replace the legacy SQQ-14 variable depth sonar on board the Gaeta-class vessels.