Low Cost Hydrophones for Thin Line Towed Arrays

Towed arrays are used extensively in the US Navy by both submarines and surface ships. Although present arrays are technologically advanced they are expensive to procure and operate. Significant cost reduction would be a major benefit. One of the primary cost drivers of the towed array is the hydrophone itself and a new design and manufacturing concept is needed. This is the main focus of the solicitation and addresses a real need in the US Navy. This presents SeaLandAire Technologies, Inc. with a unique opportunity to leverage construction and manufacturing techniques perfected in the sonobuoy industry to deliver a low cost hydrophone for thin line towed arrays. Sonobuoys are produced in high volume and are expendable which drives the requirement for a low cost design. SeaLandAire personnel have extensive experience in the sonobuoy industry and are well versed in both the design and manufacturing concepts of hydrophones to meet performance requirements while minimizing cost. The low cost towed array hydrophone design proposed here is based on previous work performed at SeaLandAire and provides a significant reduction in cost over the standard hydrophone used in the TB-29 array while maintaining the specification requirements.