Advanced Photonix Gets Navy Contract

Advanced Photonix of Camarillo has been awarded a Navy contract to develop an advanced system for detecting and identifying underwater mines.

The award by the Naval Air Warfare Center’s Aircraft Division amounts to a modest $120,000, but follow-on funding is expected, according to product manager Shawn J. Fagen.

He said Advanced Photonix is developing arrays of silicon sensors for determining the size and shape of underwater mines, even at night. “Eventually, we expect the system to be able to show pictures of the mines on airplanes’ detector screens,” Fagen said.

Advanced, a maker of photodetector devices and other electronic products, has 100 employees. The company had revenues of $7.1 million in the year ended March 31.