Aerospace and defense company Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) announced on Friday that it delivered the first of four mine-hunting vehicles to the U.S. Navy as part of a $118 million contract.

The firm's Remote Minehunting Vehicle (RMV) is a critical component of Lockheed's larger Remote Minehunting System (RMS), designed to give Navy commanders a clearer picture of the battle environment.

The Remote Minehunting System (RMS) introduces a critical mine countermeasure capability to our forward-deployed naval forces, said Captain Joe Spitz, of the US Navy. Sailors now have an organic unmanned mine warfare system that will allow them to detect and classify mines from a safe distance.

Lockheed's RMVis a semi-submersible, semi-autonomous, unmanned vehicle that tows a variable-depth sensor to detect, localize, classify and identify bottom and moored sea mines at a safe distance. The RMV transmits real-time mine sonar images to its host ship where the commander can make an informed decision.

In 2005, the Naval Sea Systems Command awarded Lockheed Martin a low-rate initial production contract for three RMVs. In 2006, a contract for four more RMVs was awarded.