PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md. – U.S. Navy aerial anti-submarine warfare (ASW) experts needed metal-detecting sensors to help ASW helicopter crews detect, pinpoint, and track enemy submerged submarines. They found a solution from Lockheed Martin Corp.
Officials of the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., announced an $18.7 million order in late January to the Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems segment in Owego, N.Y., for 24 digital magnetic anomaly detection (DMAD) kits.
These kits are modern ASW sensor packages that detect and characterize submerged submarines by sensing tiny changes in the Earth’s magnetic field caused by large metallic objects underwater -- typically submarine hulls.
DMAD is much more advanced than legacy magnetic anomaly detectors; older systems often trailed a sensor behind the aircraft on a cable, but DMAD systems are compact internally mounted units with modern electronics and digital signal processing.
Sensitive magnetometers
Kits typically include sensitive magnetometers that detect minute magnetic field changes; a digital signal processor and interface unit; cabling; and mounting hardware.
They provide real-time audio alerts and position and range information to the aircraft crew to enable fast and accurate detection of submerged submarines.
The primary application for these digital MAD kits is on the Navy Lockheed Martin MH-60R Seahawk maritime helicopter -- one of the U.S. Navy’s frontline ASW helicopters.
The DMAD kit installs inside the helicopter's tail cone, and does not require permanent structural modifications; it is removable and re-deployable among MH-60R helicopters as needed.
Passive ASW
DMAD works passively by detecting magnetic field anomalies without emitting any signal, which is ideal for stealthy submarine detection and complements other sensors like sonobuoys and dipping sonar.
Digital signal processing improves detection capability and reduces false alarms compared with older magnetic anomaly detection systems. Modular installations mean crew members can reconfigure helicopters quickly for ASW missions.
On this order, Lockheed Martin will do the work in Owego, N.Y., and should be finished by April 2027. For more information contact Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems online at www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/products/sikorsky-mh-60-seahawk-helicopters.html.
