
| January 21, 2026 – From the Defense Business Brief: Anybody need a towed sonar array? Thales has been brainstorming how to repurpose some that were designed for the U.S. Navy, but the service canceled the frigate that was supposed to tow them. It’s a situation that could befall other defense companies as Pentagon leaders urge nimble acquisition and insist that suppliers take on more risk. Thales delivered two Compact Active Towed Array Systems to Fincantieri before the Constellation-class program was suddenly axed in November. The systems are now stored in warehouses, and parts for four more are on standby, Tony Lengerich, vice president for naval programs at U.S.-based Thales Defense & Security, told Defense One. Lengerich says the sensor system—already installed on 50 NATO-member ships—could be attached to drone boats controlled by a “joystick and a button.” The company is working with companies competing for the Navy’s fast-attack USV program, Modular Attack Surface Craft, to bring the idea to bear. “We’ve already demonstrated the capability to put it at sea on a not-gray-hulled vessel,” said Lengerich, a retired rear admiral and surface warfare officer. “We could do this tomorrow. This is not something new.” It’s an example of how defense companies are handling pressure from the White House, and Pentagon, to take on more risk and self-fund new technology needed for war. “Overall, the big theme for what we’ve been trying to interest the Navy in follows the Navy’s operational concept of Distributed Maritime Operations,” Lengerich said. “In an anti-submarine warfare context, you also need to distribute sensors that would find submarines and detect them early.” Since there’s arguably an operational need, let’s see if the Navy likes the idea of putting them on USVs—or maybe even the new frigates. |
