Navy contract for Raytheon

The US Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded Raytheon a $23.2m contract to provide AN/AQS-20A mine hunting sonar engineering services and support. This award exercises an option on an existing 2005 contract, bringing the total contract value to $139m.

AN/AQS-20A, a key component of the Organic Mine Countermeasures family of systems, has been integrated into multiple airborne mine countermeasures helicopters. According to Raytheon, it is the primary mine hunting system integrated into the US Navy's MH-60S. It provides critical capabilities in support of mine-clearing operations in deep-ocean and littoral waters by enabling the detection, classification and localisation of bottom, close-tethered and volume mines.

The AN/AQS-20A system is towed undersea to scan the water in front and to the sides of the vehicle as well as the sea bottom for anti-shipping mines. The system uses sonar and electro-optical sensors to provide high-resolution images of mines and mine-like objects as well as high-precision location information.