Navy canceled Raytheon's DART sonar due to high risk

By Audrey Decker / August 31, 2022 at 11:36 AM

The Navy canceled Raytheon Technologies' Dual-mode Array Transmitter program for Littoral Combat Ships and frigates earlier this year due to technical challenges with the sonar.

Raytheon’s AN/SQS-62 Variable Depth Sonar, called DART, was selected for the LCS program and the service planned to bring it to the Constellation-class frigate as well, said Rear Adm. Casey Moton, program executive officer for unmanned and small combatants.

That plan was driven by the desire for commonality between the two ship classes and DART’s piece in conducting anti-submarine warfare, Moton told reporters on Monday.

“As the work proceeded with the Raytheon sonar, there were some technical challenges that arose principally in the area of hydrodynamics, in the sort of stability flowing through the water of the array, and also some issues with transducers, both in reliability and performance,” Moton said.

The program’s team conducted a significant amount of work to retire those risks, but in the end, the Navy decided not to pursue DART, Moton said.

Instead, the Navy selected the Combined Active Passive Towed Array Sonar, or CAPTAS-4, which is produced by Advanced Acoustics Concepts.

“The shipbuilder had concerns, we certainly had concerns and we made the hard decision to stop that effort and to switch frigate to the CAPTAS, but I still certainly think that that was the right decision,” Moton said.

The Navy is familiar with the sonar since it’s also fielded on the FREMM-class frigate -- the parent design for the future Constellation class, Moton said.

“I think it's going to prove to be a good choice and I think CAPTAS is going to give a great ASW capability to [the] frigate when it delivers,” he said.

Construction on the lead Constellation-class frigate begins today, with delivery aimed for 2026.

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