Raytheon has delivered to the U.S. military an innovative submarine-spotting hull-mounted sonar system that will be placed under the control of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA)’s Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous TrailUnmanned Vessel (ACTUV) program.
The Modular Scalable Sonar System (MS3) was delivered due to efforts under a subcontract from Leidos, which developed the trimaran prototype, which will be used as the ACTUV program’s unmanned vehicle. A trimaran is a type of boat that features a main hull and two smaller outrigger hulls.
The MS3 continuously searches for and tracks enemy threats, providing allied forces with warning of a forthcoming torpedo attack. It also allows for safer steering through small-object avoidance. The system uses sensor data to give the ACTUV a common operating picture.
Raytheon, which announced the completed delivery in a Wednesday press statement, said the system will be assimilated into the trimaran, and will provide the ACTUV program with its capabilities in an independent operating environment.
“MS3 builds on a legacy of sonar expertise, integrating a host of capabilities in a single sonar system,” said Paul Ferraro, VP of Advanced Technology for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. “MS3 will provide DARPA with exceptional performance – from detection to tracking – from an unmanned platform.”
The MS3 is Raytheon’s fifth-generation hull- and bow-mounted sonar. Raytheon announced in 2013 that it would be delivering its first MS3.
Filed Under: Aerospace + defense
