Raytheon wins Australian FMS contract award
Raytheon has announced that it has been awarded a contract modification by the US Navy for the AN/AQS-22 Airborne Low Frequency Sonar (ALFS). The contract forms part of a foreign military sale (FMS) between the US and Australian governments that will see the ALFS procured for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
ALFS is the primary undersea warfare sensor for the US Navy's MH-60R multi-mission helicopter. It provides critical undersea warfare mission support capabilities, including submarine detection, tracking, localisation, classification, acoustic intercept, underwater communication and environmental data collection.
Under the contract Raytheon will continue their work on the manufacture, integration, testing and delivery of ALFS systems for the US Navy; as well as providing for spares and weapons replaceable assemblies for fleet-deployed systems, systems under test, and helicopter maintenance trainer assets. The US Navy will supply the system to the RAN to advanced the anti-submarine warfare capabilities of the Australian forces.
ALFS is currently being proved for performance and capability testing as part of the US Navy undersea warfare exercises. Navy officials report on results, stating that the carrier strike groups consistently detect all exercise submarines during deployment. ALFS is deployed as the primary anti-submarine warfare sensor onboard the MH-60R helicopter, charged with defending the surface ships before the submarines come within range to launch an attack.
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