BC firm gets $2M deal for naval mine detecting equipment
by Canadian Manufacturing Daily Staff
International Submarine Engineering supplying two vehicles used to map seafloor
RICHMOND, B.C.—A British Columbia robotics firm has been awarded a $2-million sub-contract for components for the Canadian navy’s marine mine detection program.
International Submarine Engineering, Ltd., of Port Coquitlam, B.C., is supplying two of its high-speed deployable Aurora Towfish vehicles, which will be used to map the seafloor in the detection of mines and other objects.
“This subcontract will allow members of our Armed Forces to continue protecting Canadians by detecting underwater threats, while at the same time sustaining high-quality jobs in the Canadian marine sector,” associate minister of national defence Kerry-Lynne Findlay said in a statement.
The sub-contract is part of a larger deal awarded to MacDonald, Dettwiler & Associates, Ltd., in November 2012 as the navy looks to upgrade and extend the life of four if its deployable Route Survey Systems.
According to the Department of National Defence, the RSS uses a sonar sensor that is deployed and towed from the navy’s Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels.
ISE is providing two complete off-the-shelf Aurora Towfish vehicles, equipped with sensor systems used in the detection, localization and identification of objects as small as a lobster trap or as large as a shipwreck.
According to ISE, the Aurora Towfish is approximately 3.3 metres in length and has a working depth of 460 metres.
