WASHINGTON, 5 April 2016. U.S Navy mine warfare experts are strengthening the counter-mine warfare capabilities of the littoral combat ship (LCS) with an order last week for unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) and munitions that detect, pinpoint, and destroy underwater anti-ship mines.
Officials of the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington placed an $11.2 million order last Thursday with Atlas North America LLC in Yorktown, Va., for SeaFox explosive and inert rounds, as well as an AN/SLQ-60 shipboard SeaFox control system for the LCS.
The Atlas SeaFox mine-disposal UUV is based on an expendable mine-disposal vehicle (EMDV). The semi-automatic UUV can detect and classify mines and other munitions concealed underwater to attack surface ships and submarines.
The UUV is guided by a fiber-optic cable, and can help with damage estimation, intelligence, route survey, maritime boundary control, and harbor surveillance. Atlas North America is a wholly owned subsidiary of ATLAS Elektronik GmbH of Bremen, Germany.