Under contract to Lockheed Martin Corporation, ATLAS North America (ATLAS NA) will deliver SeaFox™ mine neutralization systems as part of a system to address an urgent operational need from U.S. Navy Central Command for a more effective mine countermeasures system embarked in the Avenger-Class ships. This extends previous deliveries of the SeaFox™ for use with the MH-53 Sea Dragon helicopters.
Under the contract, ATLAS NA is responsible for SeaFox™ system delivery, testing, operation and life cycle support for three Navy Avenger-Class ships and six MH-53 Sea Dragon helicopters. All deliveries are expected to be complete within one calendar year.
Dieter Rottsieper and Volker Paltzo, Managing Directors of the ATLAS ELEKTRONIK Group, state: “ We are pleased that the SeaFox system has been selected for this very important contract, enabling us to continue providing undersea warfare systems for use by the U.S. Navy.”
This fiber-optic guided, one shot mine disposal vehicle SeaFox™ is used for semi-autonomous disposal of naval mines and other ordnance found at sea. It is able to automatically relocate previously acquired positions of underwater objects within minutes with the integrated homing sonar.
After relocating, these objects can be identified using the onboard CCTV camera and destroyed by the use of a built-in, large caliber shaped charge. It is deployable from a wide range of carrier platforms, including dedicated mine countermeasures (MCM) vessels, surface combatants, craft of opportunity, rubber boats and helicopters.
ATLAS NA is a wholly owned subsidiary of ATLAS ELEKTRONIK GmbH of Bremen, Germany and serves the U.S. market with a specific focus on undersea warfare and unmanned vehicles. ATLAS NA is strategically located close to the U.S. Navy’s Atlantic Fleet bases and Washington, D.C. and is capable of providing any of the ATLAS Group products as well as a broad range of associated technical and logistics support services for the entire product life-cycle.
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Naval Today Staff , May 10, 2012