Thales sonars key to Royal Navy minewarfare operations

London, UK (SPX) Oct 31, 2011 -A Royal Navy minehunter fitted with Thales sonar has located and destroyed a 2,000-pound mine and torpedo lying on the seabed off the port of Tobruk in eastern Libya.

HMS Bangor, a Sandown-class mine countermeasures vessel (MCMV), has been on NATO operations off the Libyan coast, tasked with searching for and disposing of any ordnance to clear a path for merchant shipping. The Sandown class operates with Sonar 2093, the most successful variable-depth multi-mode sonar in its field.

... a testament to the world-class capability of the technology." During this operation, Bangor's advanced sonar - described by the navy as 'cutting edge' - successfully detected both the heavily corroded 2,000-pound mine and the torpedo. Bangor was able to destroy both of the weapons using demolition charges dropped by her remotely controlled underwater submersible.

Both munitions were spotted by a mine warfare team working in Bangor's operations room as they kept a close eye on the data fed to them by the ship's sonar sensors.

Ops room supervisor, Petty Officer Steve Moss, says: "When we're mine hunting we have several people watching the screens for any contact. On this task we saw several items that looked about the size of a mine, and two of them turned out to be real. It's not a regular thing to happen, so we're really pleased we found them and we were able to destroy them."

Earlier this summer HMS Brocklesby, a Hunt-class MCMV, has been patrolling off the Libyan coast during the civil war, keeping the sea lanes clear of any mines laid by pro-Government forces. The Hunt fleet is fitted with Thales's Sonar 2193, the world's most advanced hull-mounted wideband minehunting sonar.

Brocklesby used her Thales sonar and her mine-disposal system to locate and dispose of a mine that had been placed near the harbour entrance at Misurata. When Brock! lesby ha d finished her tour of duty she handed over responsibility to HMS Bangor.

Phil Naybour, head of Thales UK's naval business, says: "This latest operation proves yet again that the Royal Navy has the deserved reputation of being a global leader in mine warfare. To have Sonar 2093 playing such a crucial role in this operation only months after Sonar 2193 was involved the detection of live mines is a testament to the world-class capability of the technology."