Advanced Acoustic Concepts, a U.S. defense subsidiary of Thales Group, secured a $53.9 million U.S. Navy contract for at least two remote mine hunting modules. The contract includes engineering support, and the first two modules are scheduled for delivery by October 2029. The award has a potential value of $196.2 million if the Navy orders subsequent modules.
What it means
The remote mine hunting system uses Thales’ three-beam SAMDIS 600 sonar to produce high-resolution images of potential mines. It also includes artificial-intelligence software for rapid analysis of the collected data and is intended to improve sailor safety during mine tracking.
Thales and HII tested SAMDIS 600 on HII’s Remus 620 unmanned underwater vehicle, which is designed for long-range, multi-day operations. The test configuration used Thales’ Expeditionary Portable Operation Center as an operational hub, HII’s Odyssey software for mission planning and management, and HII’s Sea Launcher to deploy and recover the vehicle underwater. Teams used Advanced Acoustic Concepts’ ANGLER underwater effector to neutralize detected mines.
Key facts
- Advanced Acoustic Concepts received a $53.9 million U.S. Navy contract.
- The contract covers delivery of at least two remote mine hunting modules.
- The first two modules are scheduled for delivery by October 2029.
- Subsequent module orders could raise the contract value to $196.2 million.
- Potential follow-on deliveries could continue through 2039 and beyond.
- The system uses Thales’ three-beam SAMDIS 600 sonar.
- U.S. Central Command began mine-clearing missions in the Strait of Hormuz in April during Operation Epic Fury.
Source: Thales Group announcement