MCM packages readying for evals

The mine-countermeasures mission (MCM) package for the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is scheduled for initial operational test and evaluation beginning in July. Successful testing could mean the MCM warfare package could reach operational capability in the first half of FY 2016. The initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) – which will be done in four increments - will be a major test for the mission package and its modules. Increment 1 of the MCM mission package completed its final phase of developmental testing in October 2014. Increment 2: Beach zone mine detection with the MQ-8 Fire Scout unmanned aerial vehicle. Increment 3: Sustained influence sweep capability with the Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) boat – towing a submerged magnetic-field-generating cable with an Mk104 acoustic generator to detonate mines. Increment 4: Feature the Knifefish unmanned underwater vehicle, a 10-foot-long Bluefin 21, with a side-scan sonar for buried mine-detection capabilities. The MCM detachments for LCS will be part of LCS squadrons and integrate with the ship crews for deployment. The Navy’s current program calls for 24 MCM mission packages - two per year will be procured from 2016-19, plus one in 2020. (Source: Seapower Magazine 06/15) Gulf Cost Shipbuilding: UISS will be tested at the Textron facilities in Slidell, La., before it is turned over to the Navy’s mine warfare testing center at Naval Surface Warfare Center in Panama City, Fla.