Underwater mine clearance operations put your people, assets and missions at risk. Our Initiation Transponder 6 (IT 6) helps mitigate this risk; enabling mine neutralisers to be efficiently, securely and wirelessly activated from a safe distance. Suitable for a range of scenarios, from military diving, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), ROVs, MCM and site survey and characterisation
For energy: With any offshore energy development, there’s the potential to encounter unexploded ordnance (UXO). IT 6 improves the safety and efficiency of clearance operations, keeping your personnel away from risk and your project on track.
For defence: An important new addition to the MCM and underwater ordnance playbook, IT 6 helps your clearance divers and robotic platforms dispose of modern day and historical ordnance, quickly and effectively.
IT 6 is based on our field-proven Wideband 2 digital signal technology, which offers a reliable and long-range underwater wireless communications link. With IT 6, your personnel no longer need to hard wire mine neutralisers up to signal relay buoys on the surface and can set up an initiation operation in bad weather and outside of daylight hours.
Initiation Transponder 6 (IT 6) is designed to be connected directly to a remotely deployed, non-electric (NONEL) mine neutralisation device, such as a Viper from ECS Special Projects. This allows commercial and naval EOD teams to send a wireless, acoustic command from their vessel to initiate a shock tube.
It can be placed directly by a clearance diver or remotely operated vehicles (ROV). Divers and ROVs are constrained by the equipment and payload they can carry so we’ve designed IT 6 to be small and lightweight yet tough enough to withstand everyday operational situations.
With use cases from offshore renewable energy to government and defence, IT 6 transponders are suitable for high order detonation and low order deflagration scenarios.
Underwater acoustic command and control is in our DNA, so IT 6 can be considered as reliable and as secure as traditional methods involving shock tubes and a lot safer than electrical detonation lines.
Safety and simplicity are key with the IT 6 and it features several fixed and user-configurable safety features.
Firstly, the IT 6 comes complete with a hydrostatic switch, which means the unit cannot be put into an armed state when shallower than the fixed hydrostatic switch depth. If recovered back to deck, the IT 6 will also render itself impossible to arm when it goes below the minimum allowed depth.
Configurable off-deck delays and seabed timeouts mean fixed arming and firing windows can be set. The internal circuitry of the IT 6 also means that no power is applied to the independent detonation circuitry until the operator chooses to fire/initiate the NONEL output from the IT 6.
The clear housing on the IT 6 contains three status LEDs which allow the operator to quickly assess the state of the transponder and its safety. A magnetic ‘remove before use’ pin also means the IT 6 has a long operational battery life and can be powered down completely when not in use.
IT 6 is controlled using our field-proven Deck Topside system. Environmentally rated to IP67, the topside features a daylight readable 7-inch resistive touch screen, physical initiate/arm buttons and rechargeable battery – perfect for operating from small craft with no external power.
A further operational benefit of IT 6 is that its location can be tracked using any our Ranger 2 USBL systems which are installed on hundreds of energy, defence and science vessels globally.
• Wireless; replaces need for a hard-wired surface-to-seafloor connection
• Size and weight optimised, perfect for divers and small vehicles
• Low risk; engineered using COTS acoustic technologies in use globally
• Improves the efficiency and safety of improve the safety and efficiency of UXO, MCM and EOD operations
• What’s in the box: IT 6
• Accessories: Float, pressure test kit
• Warranty: 1 year return to Sonardyne service centre
• ITAR Controlled: No
• UK Export Licence: Yes PL8001.a.3.
• MF operating frequency (20-34 kHz)
• Depth rated to 300 m
• Operating range > 1,000 m
• 11-pin Size-A CRE connectors x 2. Custom connectors on request
• Accepts 3 mm shock tube
• Alkaline battery
• 0 m, 2 m and 8 m hydrostatic switch options
• 357 x 55 mm, 0.1 kg weight in water
• Acetal housing construction, clear
• Magnetic on/off switch
• External mounting point
• Integrated inclinometer for monitoring orientation
• High brightness internal status LEDs
• 262,144 unique addresses available
| Feature | Type 8373 | |
|---|---|---|
| Depth Rating | 300 m | |
| Operating Frequency | MF (23–31 kHz) | |
| Transducer Beam shape | Hemispherical | |
| Transmit Source Level (dB re 1 µPa @1 m) | 184 dB | |
| Operating Range | >1000 m | |
| Hydrostatic switch | 0 m, 2 m and 8 m options available | |
| Subsea status indicators | LEDs and acoustic communication | |
| Shock tube outer diameter accepted | 3 mm | |
| Operational Battery Life (Alkaline) | >45 days in not ready to arm state, >22.5 days in ready to arm state |
|
| Storage battery life | >3 years | |
| Repeat Firings with firing pin | >10 | |
| Mechanical Construction | Acetal | |
| Operating Temperature | -20 to 55ºC | |
| Storage Temperature | -20 to 55ºC | |
| Maximum Dimensions (Length x Diameter) | 357 x 55 mm | |
| Weight in Air/Water | 0.85 kg / 0.10 kg | |
| Export Status | Controlled under PL8001.a.3 | |
| Standards | UKCA |
RT 6-6000 can be used with our Ranger 2 USBL family or Deck Topside
