The
SeaFox™ mine neutralization system, delivered by ATLAS North America
(ATLAS NA), a subsidiary of the German-based ATLAS ELEKTRONIK GmbH,
once again proved its effectiveness in performing unmanned mine countermeasure
missions, when participating in Trident Warrior 2012 U.S. Navy Fleet
Experiment, July 9-20.
During the Fleet Experiment, Textron/AAI used its Fleet Class Common
Unmanned Sur-face Vessel (CUSV) with a L-3 Klein 5000 V2 Side Scan Sonar
to investigate a suspected minefield. When detecting a mine-like object,
its’ coordinates were input into the SeaFox™ to further
prosecute the potential target. A second CUSV then remotely deployed
the SeaFox™ for examining and identifying the exercise-mines,
followed by a simulated mine-neutralization. |
The Trident
Warrior scenarios were executed in a practice mine-field laid by the
U.S. Navy off-shore of the Marine Corp Base at Camp Pendleton, California.
SeaFox™ suc-cessfully performed over 15 mine hunting and neutralization
missions from the Tex-tron/AAI CUSV against both moored and bottom mines
and under differing sea conditions.
“Trident Warrior 2012 demonstrated once again that SeaFox™
is more than capable of meeting the demand for safe and efficient mine
disposal capabilities from unmanned off-board platforms. The ability
to operate not only from traditional shipboard-facilities but also from
almost any type of autonomous platform is a clear signal of SeaFox’s™
outstanding flexibility and versatility,” said Sergio Diehl, President
of ATLAS North America.
|
The SeaFox™
is a one-shot mine disposal vehicle, used for semi-autonomous disposal
of naval mines and other ordnance found at sea. It is able to automatically
relocate previously acquired positions of underwater objects within
minutes with the integrated homing sonar. Upon relocation, these objects
can be further identified using the onboard CCTV camera and destroyed
by the use of a built-in, large caliber shaped charge. It can easily
be deployed from a wide range of platforms, including dedicated Mine
Countermeasure (MCM) vessels, surface combatants, crafts of opportunity,
Rhibs, helicopters, and Unmanned Surface and Subsurface Vessels. The
SeaFox™ is currently in operation with ten different navies worldwide,
including the U.S. Navy, making it the most successful mine disposal
system in the world. |
