The IOC announcement comes after official testing of the system and the delivery of supporting logistics and training materials for the demining mission package. According to PEO, this marks a milestone on the road to a hybrid crewed and uncrewed fleet for the navy.
Developed by Textron Systems, the UISS is a self-propelled, semi-autonomous surface ship that can search for underwater mines acoustically and magnetically. Once fully operational, UISS will replace Avenger-class minesweepers and MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters and work to clear sea lanes, fleet operations areas, straits, choke points and landing sites.
UISS is equipped with a diesel engine, the maximum range is 140 km, it can work at sea for more than 20 hours. It also has a towing capacity of around 1,814 kg. The payload includes side-scan sonar, gap-filling sonar, forward-scan sonar, non-lethal weapons, mine clearance systems, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) sensors. It allows you to simultaneously detect, position and classify bottom, moored, bonded and bulk mines.
Source: Ferra
