Boston, London, 6th July 2026 – Cobham Ultra, a portfolio company of Advent, a leading global private equity investor, today announced that it has agreed to sell Ultra Maritime, a worldwide leader in next-generation undersea warfare solutions, to Lockheed Martin, for USD $3.45 billion.
Since acquiring Ultra Maritime in 2022, Advent has partnered closely with the management team to transform the business into a unified, mission-focused enterprise dedicated to advancing undersea warfare solutions. By integrating previously widespread capabilities, investing in both engineering and manufacturing excellence, and strengthening its global footprint, Ultra Maritime has established itself as a leading provider of anti-submarine warfare solutions that enable the hybrid fleet of the future for allied naval forces worldwide.
Over the past three years, Advent has invested approximately $170 million in advanced product development and dedicated manufacturing capabilities to accelerate the company’s technology roadmap, significantly improve delivery times and expand production capacity. A significant share of that investment has built Ultra Maritime’s position as a fully independent, end-to-end sonobuoy provider, leveraging its deep intellectual property in acoustics, advanced manufacturing capabilities and resilient supply chain to meet capacity of growing global customer demand. Annual revenues have also grown by around 17% per year during this time period.
This strategy has helped successfully position Ultra Maritime as a partner of choice for next-generation unmanned anti-submarine warfare from the air, the surface and undersea domains. Building on its expertise in acoustics, sonar and radar technologies, the business has become a sought-after collaborator for some of the most significant emerging defence technology companies bringing undersea warfare to a global scale. In 2025, Ultra Maritime announced strategic partnerships with Anduril Industries, to advance next-generation autonomous ocean sensing, and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, to develop unmanned airborne anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
Shonnel Malani, Managing Partner at Advent and Chair of the Board at Ultra Electronics, said, “When we invested in Ultra Maritime in 2022, we saw a business with mission-critical technology and a vital role in protecting allied nations from undersea threats, but one that had been underinvested and was not yet fully delivering for its customers. Over the past four years, we have changed that. Ultra Maritime is now a stronger, more innovative partner to allied navies – with improved execution, greater industrial capacity and next-generation autonomous solutions that position it well for future warfare.”
Carlo Zaffanella, President & CEO at Ultra Maritime, said, “Advent’s partnership and investment have been transformative for our business. Since 2022, we have developed and delivered an independent sonobuoy capability, redesigned our manufacturing facilities, and introduced groundbreaking modular sonar and autonomous acoustic sensing systems for our customers. At the same time, we have strengthened our position as a leader in torpedo technologies, towed and hull mounted sonars, radar solutions and torpedo countermeasures. I’m incredibly proud of what our team has accomplished and the way we have supported our customers’ evolving missions. I am excited to build on that momentum as Ultra Maritime enters our next chapter.”
Stephanie C. Hill, President, Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, said, “Undersea superiority belongs to those who move fastest and work together best. By joining forces with Ultra, we’re accelerating our commitment to deliver the most advanced undersea and anti-submarine warfare capabilities to our U.S. and allied partners across the globe.”
The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions.
About Advent
Advent is a leading global private equity investor committed to working in partnership with management teams, entrepreneurs, and founders to help transform businesses. With 17 offices across five continents, we oversee more than USD $94 billion in assets under management* and have made 451 investments across 45 countries.
Since our founding in 1984, we have developed specialist market expertise across our five core sectors: business & financial services, consumer, healthcare, industrial, and technology. This approach is bolstered by our deep sub-sector knowledge, which informs every aspect of our investment strategy, from sourcing opportunities to working in partnership with management to execute value creation plans. We bring hands-on operational expertise to enhance and accelerate businesses.
As one of the largest privately-owned partnerships, our 675 colleagues leverage the full ecosystem of Advent’s global resources, including our Portfolio Support Group, insights provided by industry expert Operating Partners and Operations Advisors, as well as bespoke tools to support and guide our portfolio companies as they seek to achieve their strategic goals.
To learn more, visit our website or connect with us on LinkedIn.
* Assets under management (AUM) as of March 31, 2026. AUM includes assets attributable to Advent advisory clients as well as employee and third-party co-investment vehicles.
About Ultra Maritime
Ultra Maritime is a global leader in anti-submarine warfare (ASW) solutions across airborne, surface and undersea domains, charting a path to the future of unmanned and hybrid maritime dominance. With world-leading ASW technology, experts, decades of experience and significant investments across the business, Ultra Maritime is developing new, unique capabilities at an unprecedented rate. Operating across the U.S., Canada, UK and Australia, Ultra Maritime brings allied navies solutions today for tomorrow’s advantage through strategic partnerships and groundbreaking technology. At Ultra Maritime, the theoretical is suddenly achievable.
Visit our website https://umaritime.com, and follow us on LinkedIn.
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