MH-60S underpowered for MCM towing operations, report finds

The US Navy's (USN's) future airborne mine countermeasure (AMCM) MH-60S helicopter is unable to tow the minehunting sonar or minesweeping system forming part of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) mine countermeasures module (MCM) mission module, the Pentagon's Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) revealed in his annual report, released 15 January.

"The navy determined the MH-60S helicopter cannot safely tow the AN/AQS-20A Sonar Mine Detecting Set (AQS-20A) or the Organic Airborne Sweep and Influence System (OASIS) because the helicopter is underpowered for these operations," read the Office of the Secretary of Defense's Fiscal Year 2012 report from DOT&E, Dr J Michael Gilmore.

"The MH-60S helicopter will no longer be assigned these missions operating from any ship, including LCS," it added.

Speaking to IHS Jane's on 15 January, a USN official said the navy found that the MH-60S had insufficient power to operate the AQS-20A sonar safely: in the event of an engine failure, the helicopter would not be able to recover the sled and risk the crew in the process. The problem was made worse in the US Central Command region based in Bahrain; in the high air temperatures found in the Gulf, the aircraft operates at maximum capacity with an extremely small margin of error, risking the loss of aircraft and crew in the event of a single engine failure.

The MH-60S will still execute some of the MCM missions for LCS, conducting near-surface minehunting with the Airborne Laser Mine Detection System and providing mine neutralisation capability with the Airborne Mine Neutralization System, navy officials told IHS Jane's .

The bulk of the volume LCS minesweeping duty will fall to the Remote Minehunting System, an AQS-20A paired with the Remote Multi-Mission Vehicle, a semi-submersible unmanned vehicle.

Captain John W Ailes, programme manager for LCS Mission Module Integration, told reporters during a 16 January briefing at the 2013 Surface Navy Association Symposium that there were no plans to deploy the AQS-20A sonar system with the navy's current fleet of MH-53E Sea Dragon AMCM helicopters.

Responding to the DOT&E report, Capt Ailes said the programme had decided to exclude the MH-60S from the AQS-20A mission a year ago.

The USN now plans to introduce an Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) for Increment 3 of the MCM mission package for LCS. A draft request for proposals for the UISS engineering development phase was released by the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) in December 2012. This follows an earlier prototyping phase led by NAVSEA.

Comments

Why States Still Use Barrel Bombs

Smoke ascends after a Syrian military helicopter allegedly dropped a barrel bomb over the city of Daraya on Jan. 31.(FADI DIRANI/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Barrel bombs are not especially effective weapons. They are often poorly constructed; they fail to detonate more often than other devices constructed for a similar purpose; and their lack of precision means they can have a disproportionate effect on civilian populations. However, combatants continue to use barrel bombs in conflicts, including in recent and ongoing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, and they are ideally suited to the requirements of resource-poor states. Analysis Barrel bombs are improvised devices that contain explosive filling and shrapnel packed into a container, often in a cylindrical shape such as a barrel. The devices continue to be dropped on towns all over Syria . Indeed, there have been several documented cases of their use in Iraq over the past months, and residents of the city of Mosul, which was re

Russia Looks East for New Oil Markets

Click to Enlarge In the final years of the Soviet Union, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began orienting his foreign policy toward Asia in response to a rising Japan. Putin has also piloted a much-touted pivot to Asia, coinciding with renewed U.S. interest in the area. A good expression of intent was Russia's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012 in Vladivostok, near Russia's borders with China and North Korea. Although its efforts in Asia have been limited by more direct interests in Russia's periphery and in Europe, Moscow recently has been able to look more to the east. Part of this renewed interest involves finding new export markets for Russian hydrocarbons. Russia's economy relies on energy exports, particularly crude oil and natural gas exported via pipeline to the West. However, Western Europe is diversifying its energy sources as new supplies come online out of a desire to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies . This has

LONDON POLICE INDIRECTLY ENCOURAGE CRIMINALS TO ATTACK RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC PROPERTY

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE A few days ago an unknown perpetrator trespassed on the territory of the Russian Trade Delegation in London, causing damage to the property and the vehicles belonging to the trade delegation , Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during the September 12 press briefing. The diplomat revealed the response by the London police was discouraging. Police told that the case does not have any prospects and is likely to be closed. This was made despite the fact that the British law enforcement was provided with video surveillance tapes and detailed information shedding light on the incident. By this byehavior, British law inforcements indirectly encourage criminals to continue attacks on Russian diplomatic property in the UK. Zakharova’s statement on “Trespassing on the Russian Trade Mission premises in London” ( source ): During our briefings, we have repeatedly discussed compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, specif

ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Search This Blog