Navy orders counter-mine system

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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Portable mine neutralization systems are being provided to the U.S. Navy by Atlas North America in response to an urgent operational need, officials said.

The Atlas Portable SeaFox Mine Neutralization Systems will be delivered within one year, the company said, but additional details of the contract from the U.S. Naval Surface Weapons Center were not disclosed.

"We are extremely pleased to once again have been selected to provide the SeaFox Mine Neutralization System to the U.S. Navy and sailors operating in forward deployed areas, enabling them to more effectively and safely counter the mine warfare threat," said Atlas North America President Sergio Diehl. "It is an honor to provide under-sea warfare systems for use by the U.S. Navy."

The SeaFox is a fiber-optic guided, one-shot mine disposal vehicle. It is used for semi-autonomous disposal of naval mines and other ordnance found at sea.

It automatically relocates previously acquired positions of underwater objects with the integrated homing sonar, identifies the target with a CCTV camera and then destroys the target with a built-in, large-caliber shaped charge.

Atlas North America is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlas Elektronik GmbH of Germany.