Helmsand test boat: what was there to see?

Test boat of the WTD 71 "Helmsand" with unknown equipment

At the beginning of March, components that looked similar to the ACTAS (Active Towed Array Sonar) from the manufacturer ATLAS Elektronik were installed on the working deck of the test boat at the naval arsenal (MArs) in Kiel. The "Helmsand" then moved from Kiel to Kristiansand in Norway. This raises the question of what the scaffolding is all about and what it is being trialled for. ACTAS was once permanently installed and trialled on the frigate "Bayern" in the early 2000s. After that, the system went quiet in the German Navy. In 2016, ATLAS ELEKTRONIK supplied six devices to the Indian Navy. The deal was worth around 40 million euros at the time.

As a WTD 71 spokeswoman clearly stated, this is not the ACTAS system, but a test system for a low-frequency active towed sonar of WTD 71. Understandably, no further information was provided.

Source/ Photo: Michael Nitz naval-press-service