Raytheon Delivers 10th AN/AQS-20C Minehunting Sonar to US Navy

Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) delivered its 10 th AN/AQS-20C minehunting sonar system to the U.S. Navy. The sonar-towed body was officially transferred to the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City Division. The system – which is the program of record for the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship mine countermeasure mission package – is now fully qualified and will move toward initial operating capability.

The AN/AQS-20C comprises five distinct sonars, including a synthetic aperture sonar that provides the highest possible resolution for acoustic identification. The system detects, classifies, localizes, and identifies mines on the seabed, near-bottom moored mines, volume mines, and near-surface mines.

"AQS-20C is capable of enabling true single-pass, minehunting when paired with the Barracuda mine neutralizer," said Wade Knudson , senior director of Raytheon's Undersea Warfare Systems business area. "Delivery of the 10 th towed body brings this critical autonomous technology one step closer to IOC."

The AQS-20C system is platform agnostic and can be integrated onto various tow vehicles. It is a key element in single sortie detect-to-engage capability, which combines the search-detect-identify and neutralize elements of an MCM mission on a single platform. The program completed developmental testing in February 2019 , and will undergo further integration on the MCM Unmanned Surface Vehicle in early 2020 and ultimately aboard the LCS.

Raytheon Company, with 2018 sales of $27 billion and 67,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 97 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I ® products and services, sensing, effects and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts . Follow us on Twitter .