Ultra Electronics to build torpedo-defense decoy to help protect surface warships from torpedo attacks

KEYPORT, Wash. – U.S. Navy surface warfare experts needed torpedo-defense decoys to help protect surface warships from torpedo attack. They found their solution from Ultra Electronics Ocean Systems Inc. in Braintree, Mass.

Officials of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Keyport in Keyport, Wash., announced a $42.1 million contract to Ultra Electronics on Wednesday to build the Acoustic Device Countermeasure (ADC) MK 2 torpedo decoy for surface warships.

The ADC MK 2 is a battery-powered expendable sonar countermeasure for use by surface ships and submarines to counter torpedo threats. When deployed, it hovers vertically at a pre-selected depth using a pressure-controlled motor driving a small shrouded propeller in the tail of the decoy, and emits an acoustic signal to spoof incoming torpedoes.

The five-year contract ADC MK 2 training devices used on surface vessels and submarines. Purchasers will include the United Kingdom and The Netherlands.

Related: Navy orders shipboard torpedo defense systems to protect surface warships from enemy attack

The system essentially uses sound to divert or confuse homing torpedoes to help naval forces create a multilayer defensive screen. The ADC MK 2 is part of an integrated sense-to-effect solution that helps surface ships survive torpedo attacks.

The system employs advanced acoustic processing techniques to detect and classify torpedo threats with a very low false alert rate and high probability of correct classification.

On this contract Ultra Electronics will do the work in Braintree, Mass.; Chantilly, Va.; and Wake Forest, N.C., and should be finished by July 2027.

For more information contact Ultra Electronics Ocean Systems online at www.ultra.group/our-business-units/maritime, or the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Keyport at www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Warfare-Centers/NUWC-Keyport.