ELAC SONAR
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1926
- HeadquartersKiel, Germany
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
ELAC SONAR firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ELAC SONAR
- Legal name
- ELAC SONAR GmbH
- Website
- https://elac-sonar.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1926
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ELAC SONAR industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Naval Sonar and Hydroacoustic Systems
- NAICS
- Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511)
- SIC
- Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sonar, Undersea Sensors & Acoustic Detection Systems (IMABAGAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Naval Sensors & Sonar Systems (IMABAKAD), Submarine Combat Systems & Sonar Manufacturing (CMS, Sensors, EW) (IMAJAOAH)
Keywords
Where ELAC SONAR is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Kiel
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
ELAC SONAR business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Sonar Systems and Equipment Sales: Direct sales of integrated sonar suites, hull-mounted sonars, mine avoidance systems, and passive surveillance systems to navies and shipyards.
- Professional Services and Training: Installation consultancy, onboard and base maintenance training, and technical support services including 24/7 hotline.
- Spares and Accessories: Supply of accessories including pre-amplifiers, cables, baffles, and pressure hull penetrators for transducer systems.
- Custom Integration Services: Design, development, production, installation, testing and maintenance of integrated sonar systems as part of defense contracts.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
ELAC SONAR product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ELAC SONAR designs and manufactures hydroacoustic systems for naval surface ships and submarines, including hull-mounted sonars, towed array sonar systems, underwater communication systems, and navigation/multibeam echo sounders. The company sells these systems to navies and defense shipbuilders, supported by through-life maintenance, spares, and engineering services delivered from its Kiel, Germany facility.
Product overview
ELAC SONAR offers the SPHERE® open sonar suite as its core platform, providing a modular and scalable approach to hydroacoustic systems. The product portfolio encompasses submarine combat sonars (HUNTER 2.0 hull-mounted sonar, SCOUT 2.0 mine avoidance sonar, SPHERE® Passive Surveillance/Kaleidoscope 2.0), submarine rescue systems (PILOS 2.0 distress localisation sonar), underwater communication systems (UT 3000 2G digital/analogue, UT 2200 emergency), naval echo sounders (VE 5900 submarine, LAZ 5400/LAZ 5200 surface), multibeam echo sounders (SB 3012 2G full ocean depth, SB 3020 2G deep water, SB 3030/3050 2G medium-depth), Doppler log (DL 3000), seabed warfare solution (ENLITOR™), and accessories (SBE 1 distress pinger, cables, transducers). The SPHERE® platform enables customer involvement through open architecture, allowing integration of third-party applications using OpenDDS middleware. Services include installation consultancy, 24/7 support hotline, and comprehensive training programmes.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- SPHERE®: Open sonar suite for submarines providing comprehensive range of sonar functions including communication, survey, mine and obstacle avoidance, passive detection and ASW solutions.
- ENLITOR®
Products and services
- SPHERE® Modular sonar system platform developed by ELAC SONAR as the reusable architectural backbone for its hydroacoustic product family; intended for integration across submarine and surface-ship sonar programs.
- HUNTER 2.0 Hull-mounted sonar system for naval surface ships and submarines, designed to provide underwater detection and tracking based on the SPHERE® modular architecture.
- SCOUT 2.0 Sonar system in the ELAC SONAR family used for naval underwater surveillance and detection applications.
- PILOS 2.0 Portable, lightweight sonar system offered by ELAC SONAR for naval and maritime hydroacoustic applications requiring deployable sensor capability.
- UT 3000 2G Second-generation digital underwater telephone system used for voice and data communication between naval platforms and submarines.
- UT 2200 Underwater telephone system for naval voice and data communication, offered alongside the UT 3000 2G within ELAC SONAR's communication product line.
- VE 5900 Echo sounder for naval and commercial vessels providing underwater depth measurement and navigation support.
- LAZ 5400 / LAZ 5200 Echo sounder family for underwater depth measurement and navigation, used on naval and maritime vessels.
- SeaBeam series Multibeam echo sounder family used for high-resolution hydrographic survey and seabed mapping on research, hydrographic and commercial vessels.
- DL 3000 Doppler log providing precise underwater navigation and speed-over-ground measurement for naval vessels and submarines.
- ENLITOR™ Echo sounder product offered by ELAC SONAR for underwater depth measurement on naval and commercial platforms.
Quantifiable outcome
- Up to 150 km coverage per station with ENLITOR™
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use ELAC SONAR
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
ELAC SONAR technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature9 records
ELAC SONAR partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Gdańsk University of TechnologycoreScientific and research cooperation in hydroacoustics for dual-use technologies for Integrated Sonar Systems (ISS) and Seabed Warfare focused on Baltic Sea operations. University contributes software updates, new applications, and advanced algorithms tailored to Polish Navy needs.
- Enamor Sp. z o.o.corePolish defense technology company providing advanced technologies and innovative solutions for defense sector. Delivers maintenance and training services for ELAC SONAR systems and supplies electronic and mechanical components.
- Phi-Stone AGcoreProject partner in NEPTUNE consortium (EUR 2M funding) focused on research and development of smart underwater transducers based on novel lightweight materials for unmanned underwater systems.
- Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu KielcoreAcademic partner in NEPTUNE consortium, combining university research expertise with industry for acoustic materials research for underwater domain applications.
- SyllexacoreMoU for future initiatives in India, enhancing cooperation on P75(I) project and enabling long-term regional growth. ELAC presented experience as sonar partner for generating local content.
- KELTRONcoreKerala State enterprise, partnered through MoU for future initiatives in India. MoU signed at Invest Kerala Global Summit 2025 in Kochi with KELTRON Managing Director Vice Admiral (retired) Sreekumar Nair.
- FincantiericoreItalian shipbuilding group as main contractor for U212 NFS Programme, contracting ELAC for sonar systems supply. OCCAR manages the contract framework.
- Leonardo S.p.AcoreMajor Italian defense and aerospace company as prime contractor for U212 NFS Programme, awarding EUR 16M sonar contract to ELAC for integrated sonar suite.
- SeaSECminorSeabed Security Experimentation Center collaboration with TNO, founded by six nations' Ministries of Defence to protect coastal shallow waters along Baltic and North Sea.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
ELAC SONAR competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Naval Group: French naval shipbuilder with integrated sonar and combat-system offerings (e.g., SUBTICS), competing with ELAC for Tier-1 roles on European submarine platforms.
- Raytheon Technologies (Undersea Systems): US prime supplying AN/SQS-series hull-mounted sonars and undersea warfare systems; competes for global submarine sensor content and represents an export-control-constrained alternative.
- Thales (Underwater Systems): Global defense prime with a large underwater-systems portfolio (sonar arrays, towed arrays, mine countermeasures); competes with ELAC on major submarine tenders and offers broader combat-system integration.
- Saab (Surveillance / Naval): Swedish defense group with underwater, AUV (e.g., Sabertooth) and naval combat capabilities — competes with ELAC in Nordic, Polish and broader NATO sonar opportunities.
- HENSOLDT: German sensor house with naval sonar, IFF and radar capabilities — adjacent competitor with overlap in sonar arrays and a comparable European defense-procurement footprint.
- Leonardo S.p.A (Sensors/Underwater): Italian prime and ELAC's own U212 NFS customer — also develops sonar and underwater sensors internally, making it both channel partner and competitor on submarine programs.
Direct peers
- ATLAS ELEKTRONIK: German naval sonar, combat and maritime systems house — direct competitor to ELAC SONAR in hull-mounted and towed submarine sonars, mine countermeasures and underwater communications for NATO navies.
- Kongsberg Maritime (Sonar division): Norwegian supplier of naval sonars (e.g., SA9510S) and underwater sensors with comparable product breadth in submarine ASW, mine avoidance and underwater communications; competes with ELAC in European and Asia-Pacific tenders.
- Ultra Electronics (Sonar Systems): UK-based sonar and underwater systems supplier providing hull-mounted sonars, sonobuoys and ASW processing — a Cohort peer in the British naval supply chain and a comparable mid-cap specialist sonar vendor.
Emerging players
- Teledyne Marine / Teledyne RESON: Multibeam echo sounder and sonar specialist overlapping with ELAC's SeaBeam multibeam product line, particularly for hydrographic and naval survey applications.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
ELAC SONAR social profiles
Digital presenceELAC SONAR compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance6 records
ELAC SONAR financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ELAC SONAR leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
ELAC SONAR funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ELAC SONAR M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ELAC SONAR
What does ELAC SONAR do?
ELAC SONAR designs and manufactures hydroacoustic systems for naval surface ships and submarines, including hull-mounted sonars, towed array sonar systems, underwater communication systems, and navigation/multibeam echo sounders. The company sells these systems to navies and defense shipbuilders, supported by through-life maintenance, spares, and engineering services delivered from its Kiel, Germany facility.
Is ELAC SONAR a public or private company?
ELAC SONAR is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was ELAC SONAR founded?
ELAC SONAR was founded in 1926. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is ELAC SONAR based?
ELAC SONAR is headquartered in Kiel, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does ELAC SONAR make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Sonar Systems and Equipment Sales are the primary driver. The others are professional Services and Training, spares and Accessories and custom Integration Services.
Who are ELAC SONAR's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Naval Group, Raytheon Technologies (Undersea Systems), Thales (Underwater Systems), Saab (Surveillance / Naval), HENSOLDT and Leonardo S.p.A (Sensors/Underwater). Direct peers are ATLAS ELEKTRONIK, Kongsberg Maritime (Sonar division) and Ultra Electronics (Sonar Systems). Teledyne Marine / Teledyne RESON is listed as an emerging player.
Does ELAC SONAR have an API?
No public API is recorded for ELAC SONAR.
What industry is ELAC SONAR in?
ELAC SONAR's product category is Naval Sonar and Hydroacoustic Systems. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMABAGAD, Sonar, Undersea Sensors & Acoustic Detection Systems, with a secondary code of IMABAKAD, Naval Sensors & Sonar Systems. Its NAICS code is 334511 and its SIC code is 3812.