BAE Systems has received a $55.1 million contract with the Defense Department to build a suite of mine neutralizers with explosive warheads for the U.S. Navy to launch from helicopters.
The company will manufacture the Archerfish remotely-controlled underwater vehicles and fiber-optic spools for the Navy as the service branch seeks to also create communication links between the mine neutralizer and launch platforms, BAE said Thursday.
BAE has scheduled deliveries of underwater vehicle and fiber-optic spools for September 2017 to continue an airborne mine neutralization program .
Each fiber-optic spool works to connect Archerfish mine neutralizers to the Navy’s MH-60S helicopters that deploy from Littoral Combat Ships.