LCS ASW mission package completes two test events

The Navy completed two test events for an anti-submarine warfare mission package this week, according to a July 16 Naval Sea Systems Command statement.

The Dual-mode ARay Transmitter (DART) Mission System Towed Body, along with associated launch-and-recovery components, completed a 10-day Dockside-1 test event in Fort Pierce, FL. The test was the first opportunity to use the system in an open-water test environment, which "allows better understanding of how the system will perform when deployed on a [Littoral Combat Ship]," the statement said.

The second test event was a "full-power, in-water" test of the active array at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Seneca Lake Detachment in Dresden, NY.

"DART development includes incremental testing of the individual system components followed by progressively more inclusive integration and testing until the full ASW Mission Package has been tested," according to the statement. 

Dockside-2 testing is planned for later this year and will "expand the scope of DART system integration to add three additional Raytheon mission modules to complete the system," the statement said. The Navy intends to take delivery of the system this year and continue additional testing next year.