Mine Warfare Support

Enemy naval mines can be a menacing threat to the United States Navy. To carry out their mission in the open ocean and littoral areas, the fleet must have effective mine warfare (MIW) support.

As a major engineering contractor to the U.S. Navy for over 30 years, ARINC has provided a complete spectrum of MIW system services. We understand their requirements for MIW operations, logistics, testing, and acquisition, and continue to help structure and coordinate their MIW programs to provide technical superiority and reduce risk and lower cost.

For example, ARINC pioneered the System Life-Cycle Engineering (SLCE) discipline in the 1960s and held a trademark on SLCE techniques for many years. Today, we remain the premier SLCE services company, developing programs, requirements, and concepts of operations for U.S. Navy MIW systems.

ARINC supports U.S. Navy MIW programs in many other ways, including:

• Engineering—Designed prototype for high- and low-frequency solid lens used by divers to locate and identify mines; developed acquisition and integrated logistic support documentation for AN/AQS-20 and Organic AN/AQS 20X sonar mine detecting sets and AMNS, RAMICS, and Organic Shallow Water Influence Minesweeping System
• Documentation—Developed the Mine Countermeasures (MCM) Capstone Requirements Document, Operational Requirements Documents, and Test and Evaluation Master Plans for various MCM systems, including the five Organic Airborne Mine Countermeasure systems
• Analysis—Conducted engineering analysis of Improved Limpet Mine drawings; safety analysis of Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration and OAMCM systems; and acoustic and magnetic signature analysis of OASIS, MK 105, MK 104 systems, and foreign mines, using Total Mine Simulation System, Magnetic Sweep Simulator, and Mine Data Collection Systems
• Interface identification—Assessed all system interfaces between the OAMCM systems, MH-60 helicopter, AN/WLD-1 RMS, and DDG-51 Flight II Class ships, and documented results in Interface and Installation Control Drawings
• Configuration control—Helped implement phase two of the Project Management Information System; provided technical and administrative support to customer configuration management functions; participated in AMCM equipment configuration control boards
• Package development—Prepared Weapon Systems Explosive Safety Review Board, Software System Safety Technical Review Panel, and Laser Safety Review Board data packages
• Software development—Provided test and evaluation support for the AN/SQQ-32(V)3 product improvement effort by upgrading C++ software in a UNIX operating environment
• Testing—Instrumented and tested inert foreign mines on a Magnetic Sweep Simulator
• Processes—Prepared the Mine MK 67 Case Conversion to Laying Mines MK 65 ECP
• Planning—Developed the Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis Risk Management Plan
• Publications—Provided AMCM, TMS, Air Weapons Bulletins/Changes; Airframe and Avionics bulletins/changes for the MH-53E helicopter
• Disposal—Prepared disposal plans for Mine MK 67 and associated internal components

Photograph from the United States Navy.