Photo: Raytheon
There are many dangers lurking in the wide open waters of our planet for both military and civilian naval ships, but few of these dangers compare to those things called mines. Placed in the water in strategic places, mines can sink a ship with no warning, taking lives and gear under the waves in a heartbeat.
Naval mines date back (at least in historical records) all the way to the 14th century, when the Chinese of the Ming dynasty first recorded their use. It wasn't, however, until the Second World War that mines and their use became the norm, endangering shipping routes, vessels, and human lives.
"Far from adequate" records of the U.S. Naval Institute claim that during the conflict over 100,000 mines were laid in the waters of the world, and they were responsible for taking the lives of 2,665 people.
Since then and to this day, as demonstrated by the war in Ukraine, mines remain a mortal danger. Knowing this, the U.S. Navy kickstarted several years back a program called Barracuda, after the predatory fish of tropical and subtropical waters.
In a nutshell, Barracuda aims to deliver a semi-autonomous underwater vehicle capable of locating and taking out sea mines. The detection part is possible thanks to the use of sonar and camera systems, but the taking out one is, at least for now, something of a mystery.
The Navy awarded the contract for the Barracuda to defense contractor Raytheon six years ago, but it wasn't until last year that the company completed the critical design review of its design. Now, it says, the project has entered the qualification testing phase, with the first trials already performed at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division.
The tests were, according to Raytheon, the first true outing of the technology, officially called the Barracuda Mine Neutralization System. We're not given all the details on the tests, or on the hardware itself, for that matter, but we do know a thing or two that helps us paint a pretty decent picture.
The controlled environmental tests were performed with a production representative unit which had to work in various sea states and water currents. The underwater drone proved it can control itself in ocean-like conditions and hold position, but more importantly than that it showed it is capable of detecting and tracking targets.
The procedures moved the Barracuda "one step closer towards meeting operational requirements." It's unclear how much longer the tests will continue, but plans are to see the system enter low-rate initial production in 2027.
Hopefully, by then we will know a bit more about the actual capabilities and specifications of the "game-changing solution for identifying and neutralizing naval mines." We'll keep an eye on this story and update once we know more.
"Far from adequate" records of the U.S. Naval Institute claim that during the conflict over 100,000 mines were laid in the waters of the world, and they were responsible for taking the lives of 2,665 people.
Since then and to this day, as demonstrated by the war in Ukraine, mines remain a mortal danger. Knowing this, the U.S. Navy kickstarted several years back a program called Barracuda, after the predatory fish of tropical and subtropical waters.
In a nutshell, Barracuda aims to deliver a semi-autonomous underwater vehicle capable of locating and taking out sea mines. The detection part is possible thanks to the use of sonar and camera systems, but the taking out one is, at least for now, something of a mystery.
The Navy awarded the contract for the Barracuda to defense contractor Raytheon six years ago, but it wasn't until last year that the company completed the critical design review of its design. Now, it says, the project has entered the qualification testing phase, with the first trials already performed at the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division.
The tests were, according to Raytheon, the first true outing of the technology, officially called the Barracuda Mine Neutralization System. We're not given all the details on the tests, or on the hardware itself, for that matter, but we do know a thing or two that helps us paint a pretty decent picture.
The controlled environmental tests were performed with a production representative unit which had to work in various sea states and water currents. The underwater drone proved it can control itself in ocean-like conditions and hold position, but more importantly than that it showed it is capable of detecting and tracking targets.
The procedures moved the Barracuda "one step closer towards meeting operational requirements." It's unclear how much longer the tests will continue, but plans are to see the system enter low-rate initial production in 2027.
Hopefully, by then we will know a bit more about the actual capabilities and specifications of the "game-changing solution for identifying and neutralizing naval mines." We'll keep an eye on this story and update once we know more.
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