Defence Online

Remote mine-hunting capability: an Unmanned Warrior exercise

Maritime September 15, 2016

Northrop Grumman will be participating in the Royal Navy’s upcoming Unmanned Warrior exercise where it will demonstrate its unmanned mine-hunting capability.

The unmanned mine hunting element of Unmanned Warrior will feature Northrop Grumman’s AQS-24B towed mine-hunting sensor operated from an Atlas Elektronik UK ARCIMS Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV). The AQS-24B, which is a towed mine hunting sensor used by the US Navy, features the world’s only high-speed synthetic aperture sonar for mine detection, localisation and classification, and an optical laser line scan sensor for mine identification. The ARCIMS USV is a surface craft 11m long that will be operated via remote control while towing the AQS-24B through a simulated mine field.

Unmanned Warrior, which takes place at Ministry of Defence exercise areas in Scotland and the Western Isles, is part of the biannual Joint Warrior exercise, and is the largest capability demonstration event of its kind. It will feature more than 40 unmanned vehicles, sensors and systems demonstrating, in a challenging environment, key military missions for the Royal Navy in a series of themed activities including mine-hunting, sea surveying, submarine simulation and fleet reconnaissance. The exercise will help inform the Royal Navy’s future capability planning and demonstrate how the systems being showcased deliver maritime situational awareness.

The demonstration of unmanned systems overlaid onto the Joint Warrior exercise scenario will create a challenging environment for the participants and allow the Royal Navy to see at first hand how the systems and sensors could integrate into current and future maritime operations.

Andrew Tyler, Chief Executive, Northrop Grumman Europe, said: “Securing access and situational awareness in the maritime environment has become increasingly important for many nations. We look forward to participating in Unmanned Warrior and demonstrating how innovative, state-of-the-art UK and US technologies can come together to advance unmanned military capabilities that can potentially benefit both navies as well as those of our allies.”

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Andrew Tyler capability Chief Executive exercise mine mine-hunting Ministry of Defence MOD Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Europe Royal Navy UK unmanned Unmanned Warrior US

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.