Raytheon mine-hunting sonar enhanced

Raytheon and the US Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) – Division Newport are undertaking work to enhance the company’s AN/AQS-20A mine-hunting sonar, the company announced on 30 August.

The enhancements will improve the sonar’s ability to identify and classify underwater mines and provide higher-quality imaging of objects in deep water.

Raytheon and NUWC entered into the AN/AQS-20A collaboration in 2015, under a ‘work for private party’ contract funded by Raytheon.

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.’

The AN/AQS-20A mine-hunting sonar is currently in production for the US Navy and is certified as the primary sensor for mine countermeasure missions on the navy’s Littoral Combat Ships.