The United States Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) has confirmed its support of global marine safety equipment provider Mobilarm’s V200 Submariner VHF Locator Beacon development project, by exercising its option to purchase an additional US$300,000 worth of test units and engineering services. The option was exercised following initial testing success of the VHF Locator Beacon and precedes extensive final capability testing. NAVSEA will then look to procure the V200 for its submarine fleet.
Mobilarm was awarded a Sole Source contract by NAVSEA in April 2010 to develop a modified version of the Mobilarm V100 VHF Locator Beacon specifically for use during and after an at-sea evacuation from a submarine. The United States Department of Defence for Submarine Escape and Rescue awarded Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) funding to Mobilarm to co-develop and supply the V200 Beacon.
NAVSEA has stated that Mobilarm is the only known company with the required technology to meet the US Navy’s technical and schedule requirements. Sea trials are planned to take place in June 2011 when NAVSEA will undertake a large-scale sea and air capability demonstration involving multiple vessels and aircraft from the US Navy fleet and United States Coast Guard, including satellite tracking of the beacon’s AIS capability.
The capability testing follows on from a successful joint exercise between the US Navy and Royal Australian Navy in November 2010, which was conducted at the Submarine Escape Training Facility on Garden Island, Western Australia, and successfully confirmed the wearability and operational benefits of the beacon.
Mobilarm Chief Executive Officer, Lindsay Lyon said: “The US Navy’s decision to proceed with purchasing the second tranche of V200 units and related engineering services is very encouraging and marks another key milestone in our partnership with NAVSEA. Furthermore, their commitment to undertake a very costly and large-scale capability exercise clearly indicates enthusiasm for the technology. We have already received enquiries from Navy surface fleets as a result of our ability to deliver on this project.
“The US Navy has in place 71 commissioned submarines, each carrying approximately 143 people. This could provide strong initial revenue for Mobilarm upon procurement. There are also additional opportunities to follow with a large number of NATO countries,” Mr Lyon said.
In independent trials, Mobilarm’s VHF Locator Beacons have significantly outperformed existing technology with their ability to enable search and rescue teams to locate, track and recover people in the water, and plan their rescue more effectively. The US Navy contract provides for a new submariner version of the Mobilarm V100 VHF Locator Beacon (V200) to be evaluated and considered as a safety-enhancing addition to survival suits, to enable locating and tracking of evacuated submariners.