Sparton declared that it has received a $28.5 million subcontract from the US Navy to produce sonobuoys as part of its ERAPSCO joint venture (JV). ERAPSCO is a JV between USSI and Sparton.
The former firm is an ancillary of Ultra Electronics Holdings. As per the ERAPSCO I subcontract, Sparton will manufacture 34,458 sonobuoys.
Three different types of sonobuoys, namely AN/SSQ-36B, AN/SSQ-53F, and AN/SSQ-62E will be produced to support the operations of the United States Naval Antisubmarine Forces. Sonobuoys will be manufactured at the DeLeon Springs facility of Sparton. The production is anticipated to get over by October 2012. Sonobuoys are primarily used to detect acoustic reflections or emissions from war submarines and relay the signals to antisubmarine warfare forces of the US Navy.
The AN/SSQ-53F sonobuoy, an acoustic sensor that remains inert, can be used for locating and classifying adversary submarines during war and normal situations. The AN/SSQ-62E DICASS sonobuoy can be utilized to identify the final localization during the attack stage of submarines and the AN/SSQ-36B sonobuoy can be used to sense the temperature of water, aiding in acoustic range prediction and sonar propagation.
Source: http://www.sparton.com/