LCS AWS package tested

WASHINGTON - Program Executive Office of Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC) announced successful completion of two Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Mission Package testing milestones July 16. The first was a 10-day Dockside-1 test event on the Dual-mode ARray Transmitter (DART) Mission System Towed Body and associated launch-and-recovery assembly components in Fort Pierce, Fla. The second was a full-power in-water test of the active array at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Seneca Lake Detachment's test facility in Dresden, N.Y. "The Seneca Lake Test was a huge step forward for the DART System,” said Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Mission Module Program Manager Capt. Ted Zobel. “This revolutionary technology is critical to countering the rising submarine threats worldwide.” DART development includes incremental testing of the individual system components followed by progressively more inclusive integration and testing until the full ASW Mission Package has been tested. (Source: PEO USC 07/17/18) Gulf Coast Note: LCS have three mission packages, the others are mine-countermeasures and anti-surface warfare. Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., is one of two shipyards building LCS for the Navy.