Fishing Net Entanglement Avoidance

To address the Navy"s antisubmarine warfare (ASW) need for a solution that can prevent/mitigate twin-lined array (TL-29A) damage from fishing net entanglement, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a new Fishing Net Entanglement Avoidance (FiNEA) system. FiNEA is based on an innovative design that utilizes custom and commercial components to detect fishing nets and autonomously perform the necessary maneuvering of the towed array to avoid contact between the towed array and fishing net, thus eliminating the possibility of fishing net entanglement. FiNEA can be easily integrated into SURTASS without requiring any modification and does not interfere with the SURTASS performance. In Phase I, POC will construct a CAD model and functioning prototype to show the feasibility of FiNEA. POC will analyze the research and development required to implement FiNEA, and identify how it addresses the Navy"s current towed array system and system requirements. In Phase II, POC plans to implement the Phase I design in an Engineering Development Model (EDM) and test it in sea. The test results will be incorporated into a full system design, and an improved fully functional prototype will be constructed to demonstrate that it has incorporated the test results.