Acoustic Intercept Receiver for Naval Special Warfare Undersea Vehicles

Naval Special Warfare (NSW) teams often use underwater vehicles (UVs) for clandestine transport into highly sensitive littoral areas. The current sonar suites on the existing vehicles do not include a system for detecting and identifying active sonar transmissions, making the vehicle and the SEALs susceptible to detection by active sonar systems on manned and unmanned surface and subsurface surveillance platforms used in these areas. This proposal addresses the requirement for a very wide band Acoustic Intercept Receiver (AIR) for detecting and locating these active sonar systems. Discussions include considerations for the Arrays, Detection Algorithms, Signal Processing, and Electronics. The design proposed is preliminary and requires additional testing and simulation for verification of performance. However, it represents a potential approach that addresses all of the specifications and design considerations discussed below. Ultimately, the system will fit in the confines of existing and future undersea vehicles, minimize the power requirements, and interface with existing vehicle systems such as command, control, and communications. It will provide sufficient source bearing accuracy and emission characteristics to allow identification and classification of the emission as a threat emission so that tactical decisions can be made.