HII and Thales have announced the successful integration and field exercise of a Thales multi-aspect synthetic aperture sonar with HII’s next-generation medium unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV).
The exercise, which was completed at the end of August at HII's facility in Massachusetts, was described as a major milestone in advancing autonomous undersea mine countermeasure capabilities.
In a statement, Thales said the integrated system is designed to deliver advanced autonomous mine detection, classification, and imaging.
It added that the system offers naval forces an enhanced capability for undersea security, mine countermeasures, and subsea infrastructure monitoring.
Duane Fotheringham, President of HII Mission Technologies’ unmanned systems business group, stated that the milestone demonstrates not only the adaptability of the UUV but also the strength of industry partnerships in delivering, “interoperable solutions that enhance undersea dominance for NATO and allied forces.”
Paul Armstrong, Managing Director of Underwater Systems at Thales in the UK, said that the sonar empowers missions with enhanced efficiency and that its multi-aspect and high-resolution capabilities are a "crucial enabler" for precise acoustic identification.
