Improved Towed Array Localization for Active Systems

The Surface Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) community has been focused on improving active processing in recent years. The introduction of the Multi-Function Towed Array (MFTA) provides the fleet with an advanced passive and active receive system. This bi-static system has many advantages to the conventional mono-static design but also presents many challenges. Accurate array heading and position estimates of the receive aperture are required for the localization of active returns. Large tow-ship maneuvers produce distortions in the array that can impact performance if not properly accounted for. Wind and currents can also alter the shape, position and orientation of the array. Heading sensors are the primary technology used in determining orientation and shape of a towed array. However, the accuracy and reliability of these sensors are often poor requiring additional technologies to overcome the deficiency. This proposal introduces technologies to help improve the localization of acoustic echoes for towed array sonars. The primary area of research involves the exploitation of active sources from the tow-ship to help localize the array. The approach is complementary to existing shape and localization algorithms being used in the fleet today and attempts to improve overall system performance and ASW mission effectiveness.