IDEF 2023: Meteksan unveils shallow-water retractable sonar

Meteksan unveiled its new Yakamos-RT sonar at the IDEF 2023 exhibition in Istanbul. (Janes/Prathamesh Karle)

Turkey's Meteksan Defence unveiled a new retractable sonar, named Yakamos-RT, at the 16th International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF) held from 25 to 28 July in Istanbul.

The sonar is an improved version of the Yakamos 2020 developed by Meteksan and is designed for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations in shallow waters. It was developed with the need to equip smaller surface combatants, such as patrol boats and unmanned surface vessels (USVs), with an ASW capability, Meteksan's business development manager Aykut Kertmen told Janes .

Yakamos-RT is a high-frequency passive/active sonar operating in the 20–30 kHz range. It has a small array structure with an array diameter of 450 mm and can be lowered to a depth of 2 m.

The sonar has a detection range of around 6 km for conventional submarines and features a small target detection capability (namely mine detection) as well as a torpedo detection mode. The weight of the entire system is less than 1 tonne.