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Press release

Tánaiste announces major new contract for Sonar Capability

  • Sonar to enhance Ireland’s maritime security
  • Contract signed with Thales DMS France
  • Technology to be fully in place in 2027

The Tánaiste and Minister for Defence, Simon Harris TD, today announced the signing of a multi-million euro contract with Thales DMS France for the provision of towed sonar capability.

The sonar, the first of its kind in Ireland, will be used for monitoring and surveillance in the subsea domain, thus significantly enhancing maritime security.

The new sonar capability will be used on Irish Naval vessels to monitor activities in the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and, in particular, in the vicinity of subsea communication cables or gas pipelines.

Commenting on the award of the contract, the Tánaiste said:

“This significant investment in sonar capability will provide the Naval Service with a state-of-the-art sonar system, which will enable them to build a picture of our subsea, thus contributing to the important task of protecting our critical underwater infrastructure."

“This is one of many strands of work being progressed to address the threats in our maritime domain. It will serve as an important first step in creating a “pattern of life” in the subsea domain, with future projects further enhancing this capability."

“This investment will contribute to the Programme for Government commitment to focus on the protection of critical undersea. It also responds in part to the need identified in the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces, under Level of Ambition 2, for a number of maritime capabilities including the enhancement of sub-surface capabilities to monitor sub-sea cables.

“My Department is also progressing the development of the country’s first National Maritime Security Strategy and a public consultation on this new strategy will be launched in the coming days.”

On the awarding of the contract, the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces, Lieutenant General Rossa Mulcahy said:

"This advancement in capabilities of the Naval Service, through the procurement of towed array sonar, will enable our ships at sea to monitor the subsurface space within our maritime area. This capability will greatly enhance the Defence Forces’ situational awareness across domains and is a welcome advancement in the continued development and transformation of the Óglaigh na hÉireann.”

While the Naval Service and Air Corps regularly monitor activity on Irish seas, this new acquisition will enhance awareness below the surface, contributing to the overall maritime picture available to Naval Service and the wider Defence Forces. An enhanced maritime picture is also important for detecting illegal activities such as illegal fishing, drug trafficking, terrorism and espionage.

It is anticipated that this new capability will be available to the Naval Service in 2027.

ENDS

Note for Editors

This project is the first further in a number of projects that will serve as an important first step in creating a “pattern of life” in the subsea domain and future projects will further enhance this capability.

Maritime security is a priority action area for this Government. The following security initiatives also contribute to Maritime Security and the protection of undersea infrastructure:

  • The Department of Defence is taking the lead in the coordination and development of Ireland's first National Maritime Security Strategy;
  • The Naval Service are observers on a PESCO project on Critical Seabed Infrastructure Protection, which aims to increase the EU’s operational efficiency in the protection of critical maritime infrastructure protection.
  • The Government also recently approved the Defence Forces’ participation in the Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE), an EU initiative which enables structured and secure information-sharing among EU maritime authorities, both civil and military, allowing for more effective operations at sea amid new and evolving maritime threats.
  • The Department of Defence worked with the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications and energy operators to stress test critical infrastructure in the energy sector in Ireland against man-made threats. The results of these tests have been shared with the European Commission, as part of a cross-EU process.
  • The Department is also engaging with NATO through the Individually Tailored Partnership Programme in the areas of national resilience, maritime security and subsea cables.

The Department of Defence has received a capital allocation of €215 million in Budget 2025, and is set to receive a capital allocation of €220 million for 2026. This is the highest-ever level of defence capital expenditure and represents an increase of €79 million (56 per cent) in capital funding since the government approved the move to ‘Level of Ambition 2’ (LOA2).

This level of capital funding allows a phased, planned programme of sustained equipment and infrastructural development across the Army, Air Corps and Naval Service as identified and prioritised in the Defence White Paper and the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces, while building on the significant investment programme over recent years.

Moving to LOA2 will entail funding increases to reach a Defence budget of approximately €1.5 billion (at January 2022 prices) by 2028 through the annual Estimates.