Elbit Systems integrated Towed Reelable Active Passive Sonar onboard its Seagull USV Unmanned Surface Vessel.

Israeli Company Elbit Systems Ltd. announced on April 14, 2020, the successful integration of the Towed Reelable Active Passive Sonar (TRAPS) for Unmanned Surface Vessels (TRAPS-USV) onboard the Company’s Seagull USV. The sea trials included multiple deployment and recovery cycles, towing at different speeds and transmission at various power levels.

Seagull is a multi-role unmanned surface vessel (USV) manufactured by Elbit Systems to meet the maritime warfare mission requirements of the naval forces worldwide. (Picture source Elbit Systems)

Integration of the TRAPS-USV enables the Seagull USV to perform Anti-Submarine Warfare operations on-the-move, substantially extending its operative range and further enhancing its flexibility. The integration of the TRAPS-USV follows the recent conversion for operation, by the Israeli Navy, of Helicopter Long-Range Active Sonar (HELRAS) dipping sonar onboard the Seagull USV.

TRAPS-USV is the compact and powerful low frequency towed sonar that was recently introduced by Geospectrum, the Company’s Canadian wholly owned subsidiary.

The TRAPS-USV version is a compact variant of the TRAPS, an operationally proven technology that is intended for detection, classification, localization, and tracking of submarines in ASW operations. TRAPS versions are containerized or permanent-fit for any size, diverse purpose vessel. The TRAPS-USV variant is lighter weight but maintains all acoustic active sonar capabilities of the regular TRAPS.

The Seagull autonomous multi-mission USV features a plug and play, modular mission payload suites and can perform, in addition to ASW, Mine Countermeasure missions (MCM), Electronic Warfare (EW), Maritime Security (MS), underwater surveys and other missions using the same vessel, mission control system and data links.