BAE Systems receives U.S. Navy contract for mine neutralizers worth potentially US$60 million

AE Systems has been awarded a US$13 million contract from the U.S. Navy to supply mine neutralizers which can be launched from a helicopter, ship or fast Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (RHIB). The scope of the contract is to supply further Archerfish mine neutralizers with associated support and engineering services.

The contract comprises three annually staged options for additional neutralizers and associated equipment, of which the customer has already taken up the first option. The contract is worth a potential US$60 million if all options are adopted by September 2010.

The Common Neutralizer uses BAE Systems' remotely operated Archerfish underwater vehicle. Able to locate mines using sonar, it enables operators to identify mines using an onboard camera. Operators can then command detonate Archerfish causing the mines destruction. Archerfish, in a competitive procurement in 2002, was selected for use on the U.S. Navy AN/ASQ-235 Airborne Mine Neutralization System. In early 2007 the U.S. Navy opted to use Archerfish as the Common Neutralizer for mine countermeasure systems. In October 2007, the US Navy placed a contract for the integration of Archerfish on to the Avenger class of mine countermeasure vessels.

"The award of the Common Neutralizer low rate initial production contract is a great endorsement of the Archerfish product and of the work that our team has put in over many years,� said Paul Laity, Naval Programmes Director, BAE Systems Integrated System Technologies (Insyte) "All of us look forward to providing this world-class sea mine disposal system to the U.S. Navy, and seeing it ultimately keep U.S. personnel safe.�

Archerfish neutralizers are manufactured at BAE Systems' facility in Waterlooville, United Kingdom with final assembly at Alliant Techsystems' Rocket Center facility in West Virginia.