RICHMOND, Va. – Airborne anti-submarine warfare (ASW) experts at the Thales Group will build AN/AQS-22 Airborne Low Frequency Sonar (ALFS) systems for U.S. Navy MH-60R helicopter under terms of a $31 million contract announced late last month.
Officials of the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency aviation branch in Richmond, Va., are asking Thales Defense & Security Inc. in Clarksburg, Md., to build airborne low frequency sonar system (ALFS) for the Navy MH-60R helicopters.
Thales designs and builds the AN/AQS-22 ALFS dipping sonar in partnership with the Raytheon Technologies Corp. Missiles & Defense segment in Portsmouth, R.I.
The AN/AQS-22 ALFS is the primary undersea warfare sensor of the MH-60R multi-mission helicopter. This integrated dipping sonar system enables the MH-60R to detect, pinpoint, track, and classify enemy submarines, and perform acoustic intercept, underwater communications, and environmental data acquisition.
The AN/AQS-22 has multi-frequency capability that enables the system to adapt its performance to varying environmental conditions. With a rapid search rate, the AN/AQS-22 identifies and neutralizes threats quickly, and to cover a large area.
The AN/AQS-22 also permits a long detection range over a wide area, reducing the number of helicopter sorties necessary to perform active airborne ASW screening. The dipping sonar system weighs 600 pounds, has a strong, safe, and reliable reeling system, and built-in fault monitoring.
On this order Thales will do the work in France and Maryland, and should be finished by March 2024. For more information contact Thales Defense & Security online at www.thalesdsi.com, or the Defense Logistics Agency-Aviation at www.dla.mil/Aviation.
