A minehunter delivered to the Royal Navy on time and on budget by Thales has entered service. It has been installed on HMS Hurworth, the first of eight Hunt Class Mine Countermeasures Vessels (MCMV) to be upgraded with Sonar 2193 and the Nautis 3 Command System.
Thales, as Prime Contractor, is responsible for the overall system design, system integration, installation and sea acceptance of the Sonar and Command System. Sonar 2193, the Royal Navy's first hull-mounted sonar to utilise wide-band technology, emits an acoustic signal containing a wide range of frequencies - rather than the one frequency used in conventional sonar -, greatly increasing the range and accuracy at which mines can be detected and classified. Sea trials have proven that this Sonar provides a major advance in minehunting capability in difficult coastal water conditions.
Mel Purvis, Managing Director of Thales' UK underwater systems activities said, "The success of the first of class trials has led to operational clearance for Sonar 2193 ahead of the planned in-service date, and authorisation to proceed with the upgrade programme for the remaining seven Hunt Class minehunters to complete by April 2005."