Posted by John Keller

GAITHERSBURG, Md., 25 Aug. 2010. Anti-submarine warfare experts at DRS Sonar Systems LLC in Gaithersburg, Md., are providing a towed-array sonar subsystem for the U.S. Navy Littoral Combat Ship under terms of a $9.7 million contract from Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division in Newport, R.I., DRS announced today.

DRS will provide underwater technology consisting of a towed active subsystem that will be integrated into a variable depth sonar (VDS) anti-submarine warfare (ASW) system for a Littoral Combat Ship. The LCS VDS Advanced Development Model (ADM) should undergo a sea test in 2012. The LCS VDS will detect submerged submarines off the shallow-water coastal and harbor waters, as well as in the deep open ocean. The low frequency sonar provides a high search rate tactical anti-submarine warfare capability, DRS officials say.

DRS Sonar Systems is a joint venture of DRS Defense Systems LLC and Thales. "We are providing the U.S. Navy key elements of an ASW system that will ensure battle space dominance well into the 21st century," says Wayne Jakubowski, president of DRS Sonar Systems.

For more information contact DRS Sonar Systems online at www.drs-ds.com.