WASHINGTON – The U.S. Navy is asking General Dynamics Corp. for components to a new anti-submarine warfare (ASW) mine that instead of exploding, it shoots a lightweight torpedo at enemy submarines.
Officials of the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington announced a $21.5 million order earlier this month to the General Dynamics Mission Systems segment in Taunton, Mass., for Hammerhead mine system assets.
The Hammerhead is a new moored anti-submarine mine laid by surface warships and submarines that classifies and attacks hostile submarines by releasing a torpedo when an enemy contact is identified. Hammerhead assets include encapsulated effector carriers, mooring and power modules, and sensor and detection suites.
Hammerhead is an evolution of the Cold War-era CAPTOR mine but with modern sensors, machine autonomy, and communications capabilities. It's officially known as an Encapsulated Effector (EE) system; instead of being a simple explosive mine, it contains a lightweight torpedo inside a sealed container.
Core components
Hammerhead's core components consist of its encapsulated ocean mine body, a Pressure-resistant housing that contains the torpedo and electronics; mooring system that anchors the mine to the seabed and positions it at a set depth; acoustic sensor suite that detects and classifies submarines; onboard processing that determines whether a contact is hostile; and a modified Mark 54 lightweight torpedo.
Once deployed, the mine sits tethered in the water column, and its acoustic sensors listen for submarines. If the system determines a valid hostile target, it releases the encapsulated Mark 54 torpedo, which independently homes-in and attacks the submarine. It can discriminate targets rather than detonating on contact.
Today Hammerhead deploys from surface ships and submarines, but in the future it may deploy from aircraft and uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs).
The system is intended for deep-water anti-submarine barriers, strategic chokepoints, defensive sea denial operations, and for enhancing the Navy’s ability to create persistent underwater defensive fields without continuous crewed presence.
Deployment scenarios
Hammerhead is not for open-ocean deployment; it’s optimized for coastal, strategic, and contested waters where small, stealthy, networked mines can create a defensive barrier. Likely deployment areas would be strategic chokepoints and narrow waterways; coastal zones near war zones; forward-deployed bases; and anywhere else to prevent adversaries from accessing coastal waters, using a combination of Hammerhead mines and other sensors.
General Dynamics Mission Systems is the prime systems integrator for Hammerhead. The company won its original $92.9 million Hammerhead contract in September 2021.
In addition to Hammerhead's mooring and power modules, and sensor and detection subsystems, its key system assets are command, control and decision processing; communications module that receives updates or transmit status; and its support, test, and integration assets. Also included are production tooling, test gear, and electronics.
On this order, General Dynamics will do the work in Taunton, Mass., and should be finished by January 2027. For more information contact General Dynamics Mission Systems online at https://gdmissionsystems.com/articles/2022/03/17/news-release-general-dynamics-to-design-hammerhead-prototype.
