Lockheed Martin signs $3.45 billion deal to buy Ultra Maritime and deepen anti-submarine warfare capabilities

Lockheed Martin has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Ultra Maritime Solutions, a company focused on undersea warfare and anti-submarine warfare for allied navies, in a deal valued at $3.45 billion. The agreement, announced July 6, is designed to expand Lockheed Martin’s ability to provide sonar and other maritime sensing technologies that help navies detect, track, and defend against undersea threats.

In the release, Lockheed Martin said Ultra Maritime develops and delivers mission-critical undersea systems. The company’s portfolio includes sonar technologies, sonobuoys, torpedo defense systems, radar solutions, and autonomous maritime sensing platforms. Lockheed Martin also said Ultra Maritime provides exportable anti-submarine warfare products, including sonobuoys and sonar product lines such as towed sonar arrays and hull-mounted sonar systems.

Lockheed Martin’s president of Rotary and Mission Systems, Stephanie C. Hill, framed the acquisition as an effort to move faster and coordinate more closely across the undersea domain. She said joining forces with Ultra Maritime would accelerate the company’s commitment to delivering advanced undersea and anti-submarine warfare capabilities to the U.S. and allied partners worldwide.

The announcement also referenced Ultra Maritime’s evolution under its existing ownership. Shonnel Malani, managing partner at Advent and chair of the board at Ultra Electronics, said Lockheed Martin’s earlier investment in Ultra Maritime in 2022 reflected the belief that the technology was mission critical but that the business had been underinvested and not yet fully delivering for customers. He said that over the past four years, changes implemented by Advent have strengthened execution, increased industrial capacity, and advanced next-generation autonomous solutions.

Lockheed Martin said Ultra Maritime’s international footprint and exportable anti-submarine warfare products would complement and expand the company’s sonar offerings across next-generation maritime platforms. The release specifically noted that Ultra Maritime’s sonobuoys, towed sonar arrays, and hull-mounted sonar product lines are expected to strengthen Lockheed Martin’s undersea sensor capabilities.

Once the deal closes, Lockheed Martin said the Ultra Maritime team will become part of its Rotary and Mission Systems business area. The purchase price is $3.45 billion, and the companies did not provide additional financial terms in the release beyond the agreement value.

Advisers named by Lockheed Martin include Citi as financial adviser, Hogan Lovells Cadwalader as legal counsel, and Fried Frank as tax counsel. The release did not disclose expected closing timing, regulatory steps, or any conditions precedent beyond describing the agreement as definitive.

For Lockheed Martin, the acquisition fits a broader pattern in defense spending and program planning that prioritizes domain expertise and sensor-enabled operations. Anti-submarine warfare is heavily dependent on detection and classification capabilities, and sonar systems such as sonobuoys, towed arrays, and hull-mounted sensors are central building blocks in how naval forces look for threats beneath the surface.

Even with the technology details provided, several practical questions remain unanswered in the public announcement. The release does not specify which individual programs Ultra Maritime is currently delivering against, what portion of revenue comes from specific customers or contracts, or whether any production sites or customer relationships are likely to change post-close. It also does not describe how Lockheed Martin plans to integrate autonomous sensing platforms into existing rotary, mission, or sensor product lines.

Investors and defense customers will likely watch for updated guidance or follow-on disclosures around closing and integration. Additional clarity on Ultra Maritime’s backlog, manufacturing capacity expansion plans, and how the company’s autonomous undersea sensing offerings will be packaged within Lockheed Martin’s product portfolio could shape expectations for near- and mid-term execution after the transaction is completed.