The Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded Raytheon Company a $23.2m contract to provide AN/AQS-20A mine hunting sonar engineering services and support. This award exercises an option on an existing 2005 contract, bringing the total contract value to $139m. AN/AQS-20A, a key component of the Organic Mine Countermeasures family of systems, has been integrated into multiple airborne mine countermeasures helicopters. Most notably, it is the primary mine hunting system integrated into the U.S. Navy's MH-60S. It provides critical capabilities in support of mine-clearing operations in both deep ocean and littoral waters by enabling the detection, classification and localization of bottom, close-tethered and volume mines.
