SAS contract for Qinetiq

has won a £4.1m three year contract from

in the

to deliver synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) for use with Bluefin-12 unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs).

According to Qinetiq, the SAS will ensure the Bluefin UUVs record high resolution seabed data images at high area coverage rates. This is the first multiple order for Qinetiq's SAS technology and a major breakthrough for the company in this competitive area of the US defence market.

The total $17,956,137 contract was awarded to Bluefin by the US Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) to design, develop and test Increment 2 of their unmanned UUVs for surface mine countermeasures.

The CEO of Bluefin, Dr Brian Abraham, said: 'We are very excited about the award of this contract. It allows us to expand our support of NAVSEA leveraging our experience and leading edge technologies with the Littoral Combat Ship Program and to expand our corporate collaboration with Qinetiq.' In September 2005, NAVSEA awarded Bluefin a contract to provide the Littoral Combat Ship program with Bluefin-21.

Qinetiq’s SAS systems will be manufactured at Qinetiq's Winfrith site in Dorset in the UK and will be integrated into the Bluefin-12 UUVs at Bluefin's headquarters site in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the US.