UDT 2016: US Navy increases mine detection capability
https://www.shephardmedia.com/news/imps-news/us-navy-increases-mine-detection-capability/29th April 2016 - 12:16 by Beth Maundrill in London
UDT 2016: US Navy increases mine detection capability
The US Navy has awarded Raytheon a $20,406,692 contract for the procurement of up to four AN/AQS-20A sonar mine detecting sets.
The AN/AQS-20A sonar is the designated minehunting sonar for the Littoral Combat Ship’s (LCS) mine countermeasure mission package.
The work will be carried out ay Raytheon’s site in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, with a completion date of July 2018 according to the 26 April contract.
Deployed from the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) as the variable depth sonar for the AN/WLD-1 Remote Minehunting System (RMS), the AN/AQS-20A system is towed undersea to scan the water in front, below and to the sides of the vehicle for anti-shipping mines.
An original contract, with various exercise options, was awarded in March 2014 valued at $35.5 million.
The sonar uses electro-optical (EO)sensors, and high-precision location information are used to provide high-resolution images of mines and mine-like objects.
The EO identification capability uses Streak Tube Imaging Laser (STIL) techonogy which provides the operator with both range and contrast data that combines to form a 3-D image during analysis to aid in identification.
The AN/AQS-20A has been extensively tested and operated from unmanned, underwater vehicles such as the AN/WLD-1 and is tested and certified for Remote Multi Mission Vehicle (RMMV) deployment.
In 2015 Raytheon funded a ‘work for private party’ contract to enable a team to alayse the systems synthetic aperture sonar to improve its ability to capture and process high- and low-resolution images of underwater mines.
Raytheon will be present at UDT 2016 in Oslo, from 1-3 June.
