ARLINGTON, Va., Nov. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced Acoustic
Concepts (AAC), a joint venture between DRS Technologies and
Thales, successfully demonstrated advanced mine-hunting
capabilities with the US Navy during the 2013 Fleet Experimentation
(FLEX) Unmanned Systems (UxS) Campaign. By towing the
unmanned high resolution synthetic aperture sonar (T-SAS), the
system detected all exercise mines with increased area clearance
rates.
According to the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command
(SPAWAR), the FY13 FLEX UxS Campaign Plan was developed to identify
potential solutions to the fleet's highest priority operational
needs. Specifically, the Naval Warfare Development Center
(NWDC), in coordination with the Navy Mine and Antisubmarine
Warfare Command (NMAWC), solicited industry participation to
demonstrate highly mature mine warfare capabilities that either
improve large geographic area search or automate detection and
classification of undersea mines and maritime IEDs.
During the FLEX at-sea demonstration off the coast of
Camp Pendleton, CA, the T-SAS
system augmented system operators by providing Automatic Target
Recognition (ATR) sonar processing, enabling real-time (in-stride)
detection and classification of exercise mines while eliminating
the requirement to conduct post-mission analysis (PMA). The
high-resolution SAS sensor combined with ATR processing provides
fleet operators with improved probability of correct classification
and dramatically reduced false alarms. Moreover, by
eliminating the substantial PMA time commitment required by
traditional mine hunting systems, the T-SAS provides the US Navy
with a game-changing capability to increase area clearance rates
and reduce the overall mine warfare detect-to-engage timeline.
The FLEX demonstration offered the opportunity to operate in a
high-clutter tactical mine warfare environment. Over three
days, 1,100 contacts were processed in real-time with a final tally
of 44 MILCOs (Mine-Like Contacts) and very low false alarm
rates. T-SAS, a mature and highly reliable system, was
operational throughout the entire demonstration with more than 60
hours of in-water operations.
The AAC T-SAS system is an upgraded version of the TSM 2054 Side
Scan Sonar, which is towed from both manned and unmanned vessels
and has been in service with the Danish Navy since the late
1990s. The T-SAS is currently in service in the French Navy
and in an Asian country. Its automated active control tow
body (stabilization and automatic bottom following) is highly
stable and produces extremely high quality Synthetic Aperture Sonar
(SAS) images even in high sea state conditions with the highest
resolution in service in the world. The system was recently
qualified for operation with an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) as
part of the French ESPADON program, the towed body being
automatically deployed/recovered with a LARS (Launch and Automatic
Recover System patented) up to high sea state. Additionally,
the T-SAS is currently in production with a LARS to be installed on
a USV for an Asian country.
About Advanced Acoustic Concepts
AAC is a technical
leader in the fields of advanced sonar systems, training systems
and knowledge management systems. AAC proudly leads a
multi-community coalition that delivers modernization systems for
the U.S. Navy through an open business, open systems technology
insertion model.
About DRS Technologies
DRS Technologies is a leading
supplier of integrated products, services and support to military
forces, intelligence agencies and prime contractors worldwide and
is the 2013 recipient of the Defense Security Service Award for
Excellence in Counterintelligence as well as three James S.
Cogswell Awards for Outstanding Industrial Security Achievement.
The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Finmeccanica SpA
(FNC.MI), which employs approximately 70,000 people worldwide.
About Thales
Thales is a global technology leader for
the Defense & Security and the Aerospace & Transport
markets. In 2012, the company generated revenues of €14.2 billion
with 67,000 employees in 56 countries. With its 25,000 engineers
and researchers, Thales has a unique capability to design, develop
and deploy equipment, systems and services that meet the most
complex security requirements. Thales has an exceptional
international footprint, with operations around the world working
with customers and local partners. www.thalesgroup.com
For additional information please contact:
Michael Mount
Director, Public Affairs
571-447-4624
mmount@drs.com
SOURCE DRS Technologies
