Ultra Maritime Sonobuoys: On January 6, during a visit to Delhi, India, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced an important new partnership. The White House is supporting a project between Ultra Maritime, a U.S.-based company, and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), an Indian defense company. This project will focus on producing sonobuoys, which are tools used in anti-submarine warfare and underwater sound research. Sullivan said this partnership is the first of its kind and will help improve undersea domain awareness.
The sonobuoys will be made to meet U.S. Navy standards, with production shared between the U.S. and India. According to Ultra Maritime, the sonobuoys will be designed to work with U.S., Indian, and allied aircraft, including the P-8, MH-60R, and MQ-9B Sea Guardian. Rear Admiral Mark Kenny, Ultra Maritime’s Senior Vice President, said this will ensure they are “interchangeable and interoperable.”
“Having experienced the Indian Navy’s Anti-Submarine Warfare prowess firsthand during Indian Malabar naval exercises in the past, it is an honor today to support both the U.S. Navy and Indian Navy in maintaining Undersea Domian Awareness in the Indian Ocean theater through the Make in India sonobuoy initiative,” said Rear Admiral USN (ret) Mark Kenny, as reported by Ultra Martime
“The Ultra Maritime sonobuoys co-produced in India are interchangeable and interoperable between U.S. Navy, Indian Navy and allied P-8, MH-60R and the MQ-9B Sea Guardian aircraft.” He continued
Ultra Maritime’s CEO, Carlo Zaffanella, said, “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.” He also added that the company is dedicated to finding new solutions for challenges under the sea. Ultra Maritime, known for its advanced undersea warfare technologies, and BDL will work together on this project, aligning with India’s “Make in India” initiative. This means much of the production will happen in India while following U.S. Navy standards.
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This partnership is also part of the U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (ICET), launched in 2022. Both teams will work to improve the sonobuoys’ performance in the Indian Ocean, focusing on acoustic technology for better underwater searches.
The partnership was announced not long after the U.S. approved selling Ultra Maritime’s anti-submarine warfare sonobuoys to India for $52.8 million. Commodore A. Madhavarao, Chairman of Bharat Dynamics Limited, said, “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,”
“This initiative highlights the strategic importance of US-Indian defense industry cooperation and our ability to jointly move forward with urgency to enhance global security.”
