Demonstration highlighted the unmanned capabilities
Northrop Grumman Corp., in support of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Manama, Bahrain, successfully demonstrated an unmanned mine-hunting mission, the company announced in an Oct. 6 release.
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 (PMS 406), Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport, R.I., 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 station to ensure safe operation while maintaining mission objectives.