Canada contracts for new bow sonar array on Victoria-class submarines

HMCS Windsor , shown here, is set to become the first Victoria-class submarine to receive a new sonar array. (Lee Willett)

The Royal Canadian Navy is moving forward with plans to introduce a new bow sonar array on three of its four Victoria-class diesel-electric submarines under a US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) case.

HMCS Windsor , currently undergoing an Extended Docking Work Period (EDWP) on the Atlantic coast, is set to become the first boat to receive the new array. This follows a contract award to US company Delphinus Engineering last month.

The Victoria-class Bow Array (VCBA) project is intended to provide the Victoria-class boats with a new spherical bow array to replace the legacy cylindrical array fitted from build as part of Sonar 2040. While new inboard processing has been introduced through the AN/BQQ-10 sonar suite, the original bow array is now encountering obsolescence and can only operate in a single horizontal plane, thus limiting its ability to resolve vertical contact information. The associated TI-10 consoles are also no longer supported.

After evaluating several VCBA upgrade options, Canada elected to partner with the US Navy to procure a fully integrated solution – comprising a truncated-sphere bow array, an acoustically optimised glass-reinforced plastic dome, and four modern TI-18 consoles per boat – under an FMS case. US Naval Sea Systems Command in December 2025 awarded Delphinus Engineering a USD14.5 million contract for the development, fabrication, production, integration, and testing of the VCBA and an associated lift apparatus; the contract value could increase to USD37 million if all options are exercised.

HMCS Windsor (as lead platform), HMCS Victoria, and HMCS Corner Brook