India and the United States recently unveiled a “first-of-its-kind partnership” for the co-production of U.S. sonobuoys, advanced systems designed for Undersea Domain Awareness to bolster the Indian Navy’s capability to detect submarines underwater. The announcement, highlighting the collaboration as a significant step in defense cooperation, was included in the fact sheet released following U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s visit to India. The sonobuoys, critical for tracking submarines in deep waters, will be co-produced by the U.S. company Ultra Maritime (UM) and India’s Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), a defense public sector enterprise. Chairman of BDL, Commodore A. Madhavarao (retd.), stated that joint production with Ultra Maritime is planned to be established in Vishakhapatnam.
Ultra Maritime, a global leader in undersea warfare technology, emphasized that the collaboration aligns with the U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (ICET) launched in May 2022. In addition to the initial production, the company aims to develop new sonobuoy technologies with BDL teams to enhance acoustic performance for the unique conditions of the Indian Ocean, enabling wide-area search with bespoke multi-static active solutions. An operational production line is expected to be ready by 2027, with final assembly carried out in India under the “Make in India” initiative. Furthermore, Ultra Maritime is working with BDL to identify opportunities for Indian suppliers to join its global supply chain, signaling a broader commitment to technological and industrial collaboration.
