By Carlo Munoz
The Navy is looking to terminate an underperforming anti-mine system from the LCS mission package being designed for that mission.
Service acquisition officials have become increasingly frustrated with the testing results of the Rapid Airborne Mine Clearance System (RAMCS), Rear Adm. Frank Pandolfe, head of the Navy’s surface warfare directorate, said this week.
While testing is still underway on the Northrop Grumman [NOC] system, which is to locate and destroy mines in shallow waters, the results have fallen short of service expectations, he said during a Jan. 11 speech at the Surface Navy Association’s annual conference in Arlington, Va.
To remedy the situation, Pandolfe said program officials are looking to modify the Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS) to carry out the RAMCS mission.
Also manufactured by Northrop Grumman, the ALMDS uses directed energy system mounted on board a MH-60R helicopter to detect mines at the same shallow depth the RAMCS was designed to destroy.
If the modification is successful, Navy decisionmakers plan to ax the RAMCS platform and use the ALMDS variant, Pandolfe said.
The surface warfare chief did not go into specifics regarding what kind of development work would be necessary to make such a transition, but he did note the move would also trim costs on the growing costs on the LCS anti-mine package.
However, Pandolfe reiterated that if the Navy opts to go with the ALMDS approach, the mission package itself would be delivered on time.
“They will be where they need to be when they need to be there,” he said.
In December, the Navy awarded dual multimillion procurement deals to Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Austal USA for LCS construction. Austal USA’s ship will be dubbed LCS-6 (Defense Daily, Jan. 4).
The 20-ship deal was to be split down the middle, with separate 10-ship contracts being awarded to both companies, according to a Dec. 29 service statement. The Lockheed Martin team was awarded $437 million for development and construction on its half of the LCS, while Austal USA won $432 million for its portion of the build.