Patria completes deliveries of new acoustic minesweeping systems to Norwegian navy

Patria has completed the delivery of new acoustic minesweeping systems to the Royal Norwegian Navy, which has been using the company’s SONAC ACS minesweeping systems since the spring of 2024, Patria announced on 10 February 2025.

Patria’s SONAC ACS is a compact and lightweight acoustic sweep system that is easy to integrate, handle and operate in modern unmanned surface vessel (USV)-based minesweeping operations. The system is specially designed for sweeping influence mines with advanced acoustic triggering.

Patria says that it developed the system using its unique expertise in vessel signature measurement, influence mine technologies and minesweeping.

The SONAC ACS “outsmarts advanced mine algorithms with its superior acoustics, capable of generating high sound pressure across a broad frequency range (from the infra- to ultrasonic bands) with excellent sound quality. Patria SONAC ACS can effectively simulate any ship’s sound and is suitable for mine setting mode (MSM) and target simulation mode (TSM),” the company stated.

During a minesweeping mission the operator selects the desired acoustic signal from a signature library and initiates the acoustic sweeping with it. Alternatively, the operator can design a custom signal for acoustic sweeping when needed. During the sweeping smooth operation is enabled by a user-friendly interface that provides controls and settings for the sweep as well as views to monitor the status of the system, Patria noted.

Patria quoted the squadron commander for Royal Norwegian Navy mine-countermeasures (MCM) operations, Commander Bengt Berdal, as saying, “We are excited to operate Patria SONAC ACS as part of our MCM influence minesweeping system following the recent retirement of our high-end ELMA-AGATE sweep. SONAC ACS has so far offered excellent handling and very promising performance, operation and reliability. The Norwegian navy considers this new influence minesweeping capability as one of the most sophisticated influence minesweeping systems in service today.”