Thales’ US subsidiary Advanced Acoustic Concepts (AAC) has secured a $53.9 million US Navy contract to deliver two remote mine hunting (RMH) modules and associated engineering support.
The contract includes options for additional modules that could increase its total cumulative value to approximately $196.2 million.
The RMH system will support the US Navy’s Mine Countermeasures (MCM) mission by enabling sailors to remotely detect, locate and classify underwater mines while operating at safer stand-off distances.
The capability is based on the navy’s “Find, Fix and Finish” approach to mine warfare, which aims to improve the detection and neutralization of mine threats while reducing risks to personnel and naval platforms.
The Thales RMH solution combines advanced sonar, mission management software and remotely operated vehicle technology in an integrated module suite designed to meet the US Navy’s evolving mine warfare requirements.
The system includes a multiview towed synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) designed to provide high-resolution mine detection and imaging while reducing false target rates. It also incorporates AI-assisted automatic target recognition (ATR) algorithms and software applications that enable sailors to process, classify, map and manage mine-hunting data. These capabilities are intended to accelerate target detection and classification, improve decision-making, and increase confidence in target identification.
“The ability to counter undersea mine threats remains fundamental to maritime security and naval mission success,” said Rob Geckle, CEO of Thales North America.
He added that the program would strengthen the Navy’s mine countermeasure capabilities and support fleet readiness in an increasingly dynamic operating environment.
“This program brings together the most advanced mine warfare technologies across the Thales portfolio, with AAC's deep experience delivering integrated undersea warfare capability to the U.S. Navy,” said Mike Carnovale, President of Advanced Acoustic Concepts.
He added that integrating sonar, classification software and future remote neutralization capabilities into a single operational solution would simplify mine-hunting operations and accelerate the transition from detection to action for both manned and unmanned surface vessel platforms.
To remind, Thales recently opened a new sonar manufacturing facility in Rydalmere, Western Sydney, to support the design, production, integration and sustainment of undersea acoustic systems.