Northrup Grumman puts mine hunting system through its paces in Scotland

Northrup Grumman Corp. recently demonstrated the capabilities of its AQS-24B mine hunting system at the Royal Navy-sponsored Unmanned Warrior exercise in Scotland, the first time the system was deployed from an unmanned surface vessel in British waters.

“Our team’s demonstration at Unmanned Warrior proves that unmanned systems combined with the right payloads can perform high speed mine countermeasures tasks, greatly reducing the mine clearance timeline while keeping naval personnel out of harm’s way," Northrop Grumman Mission Systems Vice President of Undersea Systems Alan Lytle said. “The USV/AQS-24B combination provides a highly effective and affordable mine countermeasure solution for our allies and theater security partners.”

Atlas Elektronik UK’s ARCIMS Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) towed, remotely launched and recovered the system, which boasts speeds that are nearly double that of any other mine hunting system. The AQS-24B completed all scenarios and challenges set by the Royal Navy’s Mine Warfare Group.

“The collaborative spirit shown across all parties in the Unmanned Warrior exercise has been exceptional,” Northrop Grumman Europe Chief Executive Andrew Tyler said. “The exercise has demonstrated the technologies that underpin the USV/AQS-24B capability are at a mature readiness level and could be deployed in the short to medium term.”