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Northrop Grumman has been selected for an initial contract to supply the Japan maritime self-defense force with the AQS-24A airborne mine-hunting system.
The company will deliver the system to Kawasaki Heavy Industries, which will integrate it with Japan’s airborne mine countermeasures MCH-101 helicopter.
“The combination of our proven high performance, low cost and ease of integration in the MCH-101 airframe makes the AQS-24A the ideal choice for Japan’s helicopter-based mine-hunting needs,” said Tom Jones, vice president of Northrop Grumman’s undersea systems business unit. “As the only operational airborne mine-hunting search system in the U.S. Navy, the AQS-24A has demonstrated very high reliability in the field with the Navy’s Helicopter Mine Countermeasures squadrons.”
The family of AQS systems have been the only operational airborne mine hunting search systems used by the U.S. Navy for the past 27 years, according to Northrop Grumman. The newest AQS-24A contains a laser line scanner that provides precision optical identification of underwater mines and desired objects.
