Following a demand
of the French Navy and French procurement agency (DGA), French company
Rtsys developed a unique solution for Special Forces combat divers
and EOD divers. French Navy will then equip its units with this innovative
portable sonar.
DA-SDA14 assists
divers during recognition or object detection missions. The onboard
navigation system relies on the several sensors: heading, immersion,
DVL (Doppler Velocity Log) and a GPS for surface initialization. Divers
have possibility to send message and to share contacts via UW modem.
Sonar and navigation data are fully recorded allowing mission replay,
data analysis and export. With 6 hours of battery life, the autonomy
can be extended by an additional set of battery pack.
One of the main
advantages of this product is its 12 inches screen, much larger of
its concurrent and specifically designed to be easily used by divers.
The DA-SDA14 is fitted with two high resolution acoustic cameras (Blue
View 2D Multi-Beam Sonar: 450/45 kHz or 900/2250 kHz), one low light
video camera (Divecam-720M Miniature Monochrome CCD), one projector,
on gradiometer that can be plugged under the sea and two specific
transducers for the pinger’s detection
The DA-SDA14 could
be adapted on a Diver propulsion vehicle (DPV) upon customer request.
Several navies already showed its interested for this portable sonar,
a RTsys International Defence Sales Manager told Navy Recognition
during UDT 2015.
Artist
impression showing the DA-SDA14 portable sonar in use