Standoff Systems and Technologies for Near Shore Mine Countermeasures (MCM)

The Office of Naval Research ONR published a Broad Agency Announcement BAA to solicit concepts that would lead to the development of technologies for the rapid, organic, standoff breaching of surf zone SZ and beach zone BZ mines and obstacles. The BAA solicitation resulted in three concepts that are currently funded by ONR and are referred to as the Future Countermine Counter-Obstacle CMCO Systems. Two are aircraft deployed and one is naval gun fired they are HYDRA-7Lockheed Martin, Missiles and Fire Control, Advanced Projects Mine Obstacle Defeat System MODSThe Boeing Company Phantom Works, Advanced Aircraft and Missiles Systems and the Naval Gun Fired System NGFSScience Applications International Corporation SAIC. The Future CMCO Systems are focused on the ability to hit and destroy mines and obstacles. All three systems are developing new warhead technology. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division NSWCIHDIV is teamed with Lockheed Martin to develop reactive darts for mine clearance and with Boeing and SAIC to develop chemical darts for mine clearance and a continuous rod warhead CRW for BZ obstacle clearance. The goal of these systems is to destroy surface and buried mines, mines in the SZ, and obstacles on the beach. In addition, ONR is continuing to evaluate the use of unitaryblast warheads for effectiveness against obstacles on land and in the water. Estimates of lift for the three Future CMCO Systems are scenario dependent and are provided for a high level threat laydown. This paper discusses the emerging systems under development for breaching mines and obstacles in the SZ and BZ. A brief discussion of other approaches to obstacle clearance is also provided.