Barum and Dewar continue to produce bespoke aluminium containers to house BAE Systems world renowned sea mine disposal system, Archerfish. Barum and Dewar first designed and qualified the shipping container for Archerfish over five years ago.

Archerfish is a technically advanced piece of equipment used as an expendable neutraliser to dispose of sea mines. Up to four times faster than conventional remotely-controlled mine disposal vehicles, Archerfish brings benefits of simplified logistics and reduced through-life costs.

BAE Systems Archerfish Product Manager David Jackson,

Ensuring Archerfish remains undamaged during transit and storage is vital to the operational effectiveness of the mine disposal system and the Barum and Dewar container plays an important part in that process.

The protective packaging that Barum and Dewar designed had to safeguard the Archerfish vehicle including its twin mid-body propulsors which are vital in providing its exceptional manoeuvring capabilities. This capability enables it to traverse the target to obtain images from a variety of angles providing the controller with detailed identification information prior to positioning the vehicle to dispose of the mine when the vehicle's warhead is detonated. Barum and Dewar also had to ensure that the container was robust enough to prevent shock or vibration during transit from affecting its fibre-optic link – the vital mode of communication throughout its mission between the platform and vehicle. To reacquire the target, Archerfish activates its short range sonar and video link, transmitting sonar imagery and video pictures back to its controller for inspection and identification.

Barum and Dewar Ltd, Managing Director, David Frame:

For more than five years Barum & Dewar's in-house designed and manufactured aluminium containers have been providing a safe storage and transportation solution for BAE System's highly capable Archerfish equipment. The latest contract reaffirms Barum & Dewar's position as one of the UK' premier suppliers of complete packaging solutions and a key partner to many Prime Defence Contractors.