Raytheon and the US Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) – Division Newport have enhanced Raytheon’s AN/AQS-20A mine-hunting sonar for better performance and reliability, including higher-quality imaging of objects deep under the sea, improving the system’s ability to identify and classify mines.
Raytheon and NUWC formally launched the AN/AQS-20A collaboration last year, under a ‘work for private party’ contract funded by Raytheon. Improvements in both system performance and image quality resulted from the strong working partnership of this Rhode Island-based, government-industry team of experts. Tested at sea, the system’s optimised sonars captured images of the ocean floor with enough clarity to see the contents of lobster pots.
AN/AQS-20A is the only mine-hunting sonar currently in production for the US Navy and the only system certified for deployment from the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ships, as the primary sensor for mine counter-measure missions. The system demonstrated solid performance throughout a recent Technical Evaluation, conducted by the Navy, where AN/AQS-20A performed as designed and exceeded reliability and operational availability requirements.
Paul Ferraro, Vice President of Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems’ Seapower Capability Systems, said: “Together with NUWC, we’ve applied our collective expertise to enhance this critical undersea warfare technology – and we’ve achieved outstanding results. Building on the system’s proven performance, we’ve increased its ability to go further and see objects more clearly – critical abilities for the Navy’s mine warfare mission.”
Image: US Navy photo The Remote Minehunting System and AN/AQS-20A Minehunting Sonar on USS Independence (LCS-2)
If you would like to join our community and read more articles like this then please click here
collaboration Division Newport International mine detection Naval Undersea Warfare Center Navy NORTH AMERICA NUWC Paul Ferraro Raytheon Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems Seapower Capability Systems US Vice President
Post written by: Domhnall MacInnes
I am a features writer for MOD DCB magazine and Defence Online and a Content Marketing Executive with BiP Solutions.
RELATED ARTICLES
December 2, 2024
Homeland - Raytheon UK secures two-year extension for Command and Staff Training with British Army
Raytheon UK, part of RTX’s Raytheon business, has secured a two-year extension of its Command and Staff Training contract, continuing
October 8, 2024
Homeland - UK, US and Canada to collaborate on cybersecurity and AI research
The Ministry of Defence, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Canadian Department of National Defence will
