The US Navy has awarded General Dynamics Mission Systems (GDMS) a $229.65-million contract modification to procure 188 additional Hammerhead anti-submarine mines.
GDMS was initially awarded a $92.9-million contract in 2022 to design, test, and deliver Hammerhead Encapsulated Effector systems and prototypes. In 2024, the service added $20.7 million through a contract modification to exercise an option for additional systems.
The latest award comes as Congress pushes to expand the navy’s undersea weapons inventory to support two simultaneous major regional conflicts, including increasing stocks of MK 54 lightweight torpedoes, which serve as the Hammerhead’s payload.
Most of the work will be carried out in Taunton, Massachusetts, with completion expected by October 2028.
Anti-Submarine Weapon
The Hammerhead is a moored anti-submarine mine that anchors to the seafloor in intermediate to deep water and uses acoustic sensors to detect and classify approaching submarines.
Unlike traditional contact mines, it confirms a hostile target before releasing an encapsulated MK 54 lightweight torpedo, which autonomously homes in on and engages the submarine.
Designed for deployment in ports, straits, and other maritime chokepoints, the Hammerhead can operate autonomously after emplacement. The US Navy has been exploring uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) as potential deployment platforms, including Boeing’s Orca extra-large UUV, the first of six ordered prototypes of which was delivered in December 2023.
The Hammerhead is one of the navy’s active mine programs alongside the Mk 68 Clandestine Delivered Mine for shallow-water operations and the Quickstrike-ER, which converts a 2,000-pound (907-kilogram) general-purpose bomb into a precision-guided naval mine.
