Northrop Grumman Corporation, in support of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Manama, Bahrain, announced the successful demonstration of an unmanned mine-hunting mission.
In the demonstration, the Mine Hunting Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MHU) was used in tandem with Northrop Grumman’s AQS-24A Mine Detecting Sensor System in the Arabian Gulf.
The demonstration highlighted the unmanned capabilities of the MHU in deploying, towing and recovering the AQS-24A.
The MHU with the AQS-24A was rapidly fielded by the U.S. Navy’s Unmanned Maritime Systems Program Office (PMS406), NAVSEA, Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC), Division Newport and Northrop Grumman to prove the utility of mine hunting from an 11-meter unmanned surface platform.
The MHU was remotely controlled and executed a preplanned mission by transiting to an operational area, deploying the AQS-24A, executing a search pattern and recovering the sensor. Real-time situational awareness data and sensor sonar data were sent via tactical data link to the command and control (C2) station to ensure safe operation while maintaining mission objectives.
[mappress] Press Release, October 07, 2014; Image: Northrop Grumman