Naval Warfare
Tenth AN/AQS-20C sonar delivered to US Navy
Raytheon has delivered the tenth AN/AQS-20C minehunting sonar system to the US Navy, the company announced on 15 January.
The sonar-towed system – which is the program of record for the navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) mine countermeasure mission package – is now fully qualified and will move toward initial operating capability.
The AN/AQS-20C comprises five distinct sonars, including a synthetic aperture sonar which provides the highest possible resolution for acoustic identification. The system detects, classifies, localises and identifies mines on the seabed, near-bottom moored mines, volume mines and near-surface mines.
The AQS-20C system is platform agnostic and can be integrated onto various tow vehicles. It is a key element in single sortie detect-to-engage capability, which combines the search-detect-identify and neutralise elements of an MCM mission on a single platform.
The programme completed developmental testing in February 2019, and will undergo further integration on the MCM Unmanned Surface Vehicle in early 2020 and ultimately aboard the LCS.
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