US to manufacture sonobuoys in India, to augment Indian Navy's submarine detection capability

New Delhi: Bharat Dynamics Limited based in Hyderabad is in advanced negotiation with Ultra Maritime of the United States for a first-of-its-kind partnership for manufacturing sonobuoys in India to help augment the Indian Navy’s capability to detect and track underwater objects, particularly the submarines.

President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, announced the progress in negotiations between Bharat Dynamics Limited and Ultra Maritime during his visit to New Delhi on Monday.

BDL, a public sector undertaking, has partnered with Ultra Maritime, a US-based world leader in the design and production of undersea warfare capabilities, to supply and manufacture sonobuoys of the American Navy standard for the Indian Navy. The two entities will manufacture the sonobuoys in India and the US.

The Biden Administration had earlier approved a $ 52.8 million government-to-government deal for the sale of US sonobuoys to India.

BDL and Ultra Maritime will also pursue new sonobuoy technologies to optimize their acoustic performance in the unique environment of the Indian Ocean, enabling wide area search through bespoke multi-static active solutions, according to a press release issued by the US-based company on Tuesday.

The sonobuoys are small and expendable devices used in underwater acoustics and sonar systems to detect submarines and other hostile objects and to carry out precision attacks to eliminate threats.

“The announcement today by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan reflects Ultra Maritime’s commitment to the Indian Navy in partnering with Bharat Dynamics Limited for production and delivery of world-class sonobuoys, and our resolute commitment to continue to develop forward-leaning solutions to unique undersea challenges,” the press-release issued by Ultra Maritime quoted the company CEO, Carlo Zaffanella, saying.

India moved to procure US sonobuoys with the transfer of technology to augment its navy’s underwater threat detection capabilities in view of the increasing forays by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s forays in the Indian Ocean region.

“Bharat Dynamics Limited is completely aligned with the Indian Navy to meet the operational demand for Make in India sonobuoys and is committed to standing up joint production with Ultra Maritime in Vishakhapatnam,” BDL chairman Commodore (retd) A Madhavarao was quoted saying in the press release issued by Ultra Maritime. “This initiative highlights the strategic importance of US-Indian defence industry cooperation and our ability to jointly move forward with urgency to enhance global security.”

The Ultra Maritime sonobuoys co-produced in India are interchangeable and interoperable between the US Navy, Indian Navy and allied P-8, MH-60R and the MQ-9B Sea Guardian aircraft, Rear Admiral Mark Kenny (retd), the senior vice president for strategy and business development of the US company, said.