Milestone for Knightfish MCM

WASHINGTON - The Program Executive Officer for Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC) granted ‘Milestone C’ approval to the Knifefish Surface Mine Countermeasure Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Program. The decision clears the way for low-rate initial production (LRIP), according to an Aug. 23 PEO USC announcement. The Navy is expected to award an LRIP contract to Knifefish prime contractor General Dynamics Mission Systems in FY 2022 after additional LRIP testing. The Navy plans to procure 30 Knifefish systems in all, 24 in support of Littoral Combat Ships’ Mine Countermeasures (MCM) warfare program. The Knifefish system is designed for deployment from LCS, vessels of opportunity, or shore to detect/classify buried, bottom and volume mines in high-clutter environments. Knifefish is a critical element of the LCS Mine Countermeasure Mission Package. It was initially developed by General Dynamics in concert with Naval Surface Warfare Center at Panama City, Fla. The Knifefish system, which consists of two unmanned undersea vehicles along with support systems and equipment, uses cutting-edge low-frequency broadband sonar and automated target recognition software technology that acts as an off-board sensor while a host ship stays outside the mine field boundaries. Formal Developmental Testing and an Operational Assessment were conducted from January through May 2019 in multiple locations off the coasts of Massachusetts and Panama City, Fla. (Source: NAVSEA 08/26/19) https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Media/News/Article/1944024/us-navys-knifefish-uuv-program-achieves-milestone-c/