{"id":28740640,"date":"2026-10-19T15:58:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T13:58:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/sonobuoys-mad-boom-how-maritime-patrol-aircraft-hunt-submarines\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T15:58:51","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T13:58:51","slug":"sonobuoys-mad-boom-how-maritime-patrol-aircraft-hunt-submarines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/sonobuoys-mad-boom-how-maritime-patrol-aircraft-hunt-submarines\/","title":{"rendered":"Sonobuoys and MAD: How Patrol Aircraft Hunt Submarines"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\r\n\r\n<style>\r\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid 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It hides beneath hundreds of metres of dark, noisy water, moving slowly and quietly. Finding one from an aircraft flying overhead sounds almost impossible. Yet maritime patrol crews have been doing it since the Second World War, with two very different tools: buoys that listen, and a boom that feels the Earth's magnetic field.<\/p>\r\n<p>On Monday FlightGlobal reported that South Korea's navy has started the process of replacing its seven <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/lockheed-p-3-orion\/\">P-3CK Orions<\/a>, which are due to retire in 2030. It is a good moment to look at how these aircraft actually find a submarine.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f4f6f9;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:18px 22px;margin:22px 0 26px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700;color:#0d1117\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:18px\"><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Sonobuoy:<\/strong> Small expendable sonar buoy dropped from aircraft; typically about 13 cm wide and 91 cm long<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Passive buoys:<\/strong> Listen for sounds from ships and submarines<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Active buoys:<\/strong> Send out sonar pings and listen for echoes<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Data link:<\/strong> Buoys radio what they hear back to the aircraft by UHF\/VHF<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>First operational use:<\/strong> July 1942, RAF Coastal Command, code name \"High Tea\"<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>MAD:<\/strong> Detects tiny distortions in Earth's magnetic field caused by a steel hull<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>MAD range:<\/strong> Typically a few hundred metres<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>P-8A Poseidon:<\/strong> Most versions carry no MAD; India's P-8I does<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Sonobuoys: Ears in the Water<\/h2>\r\n<p>A sonobuoy is a slim tube, about 13 centimetres across and 91 centimetres long, launched from the aircraft in a canister. When it hits the water, a float with a radio transmitter stays on the surface while hydrophones sink to a set depth. Whatever the hydrophones pick up is radioed back to the operators on the aircraft.<\/p>\r\n<p>There are two main families. Passive buoys emit nothing and simply listen for propellers, pumps and machinery. Active buoys send out a sonar ping and listen for the echo, giving range and bearing, but they also tell the submarine it has been found. Some can be commanded by radio from the aircraft to ping or scuttle themselves.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/raaf-loading-sonobuoys-p-8a-poseidon-rimpac-2022.jpg\" alt=\"Royal Australian Air Force officer loading sonobuoys into racks aboard a P-8A Poseidon\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">An RAAF officer loads sonobuoys aboard a P-8A Poseidon at Pearl Harbor during RIMPAC 2022. The racks hold buoys ready for launch. Photo: U.S. Navy \/ Hannah Cox (public domain)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n<p>One buoy on its own hears little. The real skill is laying patterns, lines and grids of buoys, so that their signals can be combined and the submarine's position worked out. That is why patrol aircraft carry racks of them and why a hunt can use dozens.<\/p>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A Wartime Idea<\/h2>\r\n<p>The idea grew out of sonar work in the First World War and US radio-buoy experiments in the 1930s. Sonobuoys first went into operational use in July 1942 with RAF Coastal Command, under the code name High Tea, flown by No. 210 Squadron's Sunderland flying boats. After the war they became standard on the P-2 Neptune, the S-2 Tracker, the S-3 Viking and the P-3 Orion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/an-ssq-53b-sonobuoy-museum-display.jpg\" alt=\"AN\/SSQ-53B sonobuoy displayed beside its launch container\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">An AN\/SSQ-53B sonobuoy, a widely used passive type, displayed with its launch container. The museum label notes its use from S-2 Tracker anti-submarine aircraft. Photo: Lk1155 \/ CC0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">MAD: Feeling the Hull<\/h2>\r\n<p>A submarine is a huge mass of steel, and steel bends the Earth's magnetic field around it. A magnetic anomaly detector, or MAD, is a very sensitive magnetometer that picks up that tiny distortion. It is entirely passive, and it does not care about weather or sea state, which is why it can work in rough seas where sonar struggles.<\/p>\r\n<p>The catch is range. The anomaly fades very quickly with distance, so MAD typically only works within a few hundred metres. That is why MAD-equipped aircraft fly low and slow over a suspected contact, and why the sensor sits at the end of a long tail boom like the one on the P-3 Orion: it has to be as far as possible from the aircraft's own metal and electrics.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 8px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VwW9UaN8sc4\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 24px\">A restored Cold War film on anti-submarine warfare, showing how patrol aircraft tracked submarines.<\/p>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The P-8 Changed the Rules<\/h2>\r\n<p>Its successor, the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/p-8-poseidon\/\">Boeing P-8 Poseidon<\/a>, shows how the job has changed. Built on a Boeing 737-800 airframe and in US Navy service since 2013, most P-8s do not carry MAD at all: the Navy deleted the requirement to save weight. India's P-8I is the exception and carries a MAD.<\/p>\r\n<p>Instead the P-8 leans on sonobuoys, radar and processing power, and it is being fitted with a kit that turns a Mk 54 torpedo into a glide weapon that can be released from as high as 30,000 feet. The tools have changed, but the principle has not. A submarine can hide from eyes. It is much harder to hide from patient listeners and the physics of steel.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Sources: Wikipedia (Sonobuoy; Magnetic anomaly detector; Boeing P-8 Poseidon), FlightGlobal, U.S. Navy<\/em><\/p>\r\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\r\n\r\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n\r\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>What is a sonobuoy?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">A sonobuoy is a small expendable sonar buoy, typically about 13 cm in diameter and 91 cm long, dropped from aircraft to hunt submarines. On hitting the water it deploys hydrophones below a radio float and transmits what it hears back to the aircraft by UHF or VHF radio.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What is the difference between active and passive sonobuoys?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Passive sonobuoys only listen for sounds from ships and submarines and emit nothing. Active sonobuoys send out sonar pings and listen for echoes, giving range and bearing to a target, but they also reveal to the submarine that it is being hunted.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How does a magnetic anomaly detector find submarines?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">A magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) is a sensitive magnetometer that detects tiny distortions in the Earth's magnetic field caused by a submarine's steel hull. It is passive and works in any weather, but its range is typically only a few hundred metres, so aircraft must fly low over the contact.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why does the P-3 Orion have a long tail boom?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The long tail boom on the P-3 Orion houses its magnetic anomaly detector. Placing the sensor at the end of a boom keeps it as far as possible from the aircraft's own metal structure and electrical systems, which would otherwise interfere with the very small magnetic signals it is trying to detect.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Does the P-8 Poseidon have a MAD boom?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Most versions of the Boeing P-8 Poseidon do not carry a magnetic anomaly detector, because the US Navy deleted the requirement to save weight. India's P-8I variant is the exception and carries a MAD. The P-8 relies mainly on sonobuoys, radar and onboard processing.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>When were sonobuoys first used?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Sonobuoys were first used operationally in July 1942 by RAF Coastal Command, under the code name High Tea, with No. 210 Squadron flying Sunderland flying boats. They later became standard on aircraft such as the P-2 Neptune, S-2 Tracker and P-3 Orion.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is a sonobuoy?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"A sonobuoy is a small expendable sonar buoy, typically about 13 cm in diameter and 91 cm long, dropped from aircraft to hunt submarines. 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They later became standard on aircraft such as the P-2 Neptune, S-2 Tracker and P-3 Orion.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/p-8-poseidon-mq-4c-triton-teaming-demonstration-2026\/\">The Poseidon Learns to Fly Its Own Drone<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/hawker-siddeley-nimrod-maritime-patrol-comet-mra4\/\">Nimrod: The Airliner That Hunted Submarines for 42 Years<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/breguet-atlantic-atlantique-2-maritime-patrol-secbat-history\/\">Breguet Atlantic: Europe's Purpose-Built Submarine Hunter<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/cs2f-tracker-de-havilland-canada-royal-canadian-navy\/\">CS2F Tracker: The Submarine Hunter de Havilland Canada Built 99 Of<\/a><\/p><\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Share this story A submarine&#8217;s whole purpose is to disappear. It hides beneath hundreds of metres of dark, noisy water, moving slowly and quietly. Finding one from an aircraft flying overhead sounds almost impossible. Yet maritime patrol crews have been doing it since the Second World War, with two very different tools: buoys that listen, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":28740610,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28740640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Sonobuoys and MAD: How Patrol Aircraft Hunt Subs | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How sonobuoys and magnetic anomaly detectors let patrol aircraft like the P-3 Orion and P-8 Poseidon find submarines hiding deep under the sea.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/sonobuoys-mad-boom-how-maritime-patrol-aircraft-hunt-submarines\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sonobuoys and MAD: How Patrol Aircraft Hunt Subs | MiGFlug\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How sonobuoys and magnetic anomaly detectors let patrol aircraft like the P-3 Orion and P-8 Poseidon find submarines hiding deep under the sea.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/sonobuoys-mad-boom-how-maritime-patrol-aircraft-hunt-submarines\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Afterburner - 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