AQS-20A
Encyclopedia
The AQS-20A is an airborne SONAR
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...

 mine countermeasure detection system, developed by Raytheon
Raytheon
Raytheon Company is a major American defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007...

. The system is utilized by the MH-60S and MH-53E
MH-53 Pave Low
The Sikorsky MH-53 Pave Low series is a long-range combat search and rescue helicopter for the United States Air Force. The series was upgraded from the HH-53B/C, variants of the Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion. The HH-53 "Super Jolly Green Giant" was initially developed to replace the HH-3 "Jolly...

 helicopters and as part of the mission package for the Littoral Combat Ship
Littoral combat ship
A Littoral Combat Ship is a type of relatively small surface vessel intended for operations in the littoral zone . It is "envisioned to be a networked, agile, stealthy surface combatant capable of defeating anti-access and asymmetric threats in the littorals." Two ship classes are the first...

s (LCS) and some United States Navy Destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

s of the Arleigh Burke class. However, only one destroyer has been outfitted with the specific mission package as of April 2009. The AN/AQS-20 mine hunting sonar systems will be employed for deeper mine threats. The "Q-20", as it is commonly called, is an underwater towed body containing a high resolution, side-looking, multibeam sonar system used for minehunting along the ocean bottom. This rapidly-deployable system provides real-time sonar images to operators in the aircraft to locate, classify, mark and record mine-like objects and underwater terrain features. The AQS-20 has an active, stabilized underwater vehicle, equipped with advanced multiple-beam side-looking sonar. The helicopter tows the underwater body by a small-diameter electromechanical cable while on board the helicopter, an operator can view the underwater image and identify objects on a video monitor while recording the data on S-VHS
S-VHS
S-VHS is an improved version of the VHS standard for consumer-level analog recording videocassettes. It was introduced by JVC in Japan in April 1987 with the HR-S7000 VCR and certain overseas markets soon afterwards...

 digital tapes for post mission analysis. Operators actually fly the device underwater, controlling the depth of the device the same way that an airplane controls its altitude. Once located, the exact coordinates of mine-like objects can be used by Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) personnel to reacquire and neutralize the mine.

Nomenclature

Per the Joint Electronics Type Designation System
Joint Electronics Type Designation System
The Joint Electronics Type Designation System , which was previously known as the Joint Army-Navy Nomenclature System and the Joint Communications-Electronics Nomenclature System, is a method developed by the U.S. War Department during World War II for assigning an unclassified designator to...

 (JETDS), the nomenclature AN/AQS-20A is derived this way:
Descriptor Meaning
AN Nomenclature has been derived from the JETDS
Joint Electronics Type Designation System
The Joint Electronics Type Designation System , which was previously known as the Joint Army-Navy Nomenclature System and the Joint Communications-Electronics Nomenclature System, is a method developed by the U.S. War Department during World War II for assigning an unclassified designator to...

A Installed on a piloted aircraft
Q SONAR
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...

S Used for Detecting, Range and Bearing, Search
20 Unique designator for this particular unit
A First variant on the base unit
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK