AQS-24 performance envelope expands
Recent testing carried out by Northrop Grumman on the AQS-24 minehunting sonar has doubled the current AQS-24 Program of Record depth performance metric.
The test team deployed the AQS-24 at depths greater than 400ft off the coast of Ft Lauderdale, Florida. The system demonstrated ‘excellent sonar performance’ at all tested depths, while carrying out classification of objects of interest.
In-water testing of the AQS-24 system has also recently begun on the US Navy's MCM USV at Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City. This is in preparation for user operated evaluation system testing aboard the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) in 2020. The AQS-24’s newly doubled depth capability is planned for integration and test with the MCM USV system.
Earlier this year, the company also demonstrated an autonomy upgrade path for the AQS-24’s minehunting system by integrating and successfully testing the company’s image exploitation suite, incorporating machine learning for automatic target recognition using multiple algorithms. The navy plans to incorporate this new capability into existing AQS-24 minehunting systems.
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