Article Posted on : - Oct 26, 2011

AN/AQS-24A Airborne Minehunting System. Photo: Northrop Grumman

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND (BNS): Northrop Grumman Corporation has been competitively selected to supply the AQS-24A airborne mine-hunting system to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.

Under the initial contract, Northrop Grumman's Undersea Systems business unit will deliver the airborne mine-hunting system to Kawasaki Heavy Industries for integration into Japan's new Airborne Mine Countermeasures MCH-101 helicopter.

"The combination of our proven high performance, low cost and ease of integration in the MCH-101 airframe makes the AQS-24A the ideal choice for Japan's helicopter-based mine-hunting needs," Tom Jones, vice president of Northrop Grumman's Undersea Systems business unit, was quoted as saying in the company news release.

The AQS-24A is a high speed mine-hunting system that is primarily towed from the MH-53E helicopter, but has been easily adapted to the smaller Japanese MCH-101 aircraft.

The AQS-24A contains a laser line scanner that provides precision optical identification of underwater mines and other objects of interest. The AQS-24A allows for simultaneous operation of the sonar and laser, which significantly improves area coverage rate, shortens the mine clearance timeline and alleviates unnecessary maintenance cycles. Advanced navigation controls and processing provide highly accurate target positioning, the release added.

The AQS-24A and its predecessors, the AQS-24 and the AQS-14, have been the only operational airborne mine hunting search systems used by the US Navy for the past 27 years.