Acoustic Intercept Receiver for Naval Special Warfare Undersea Vehicles

The current generation of high-frequency active 3-D acoustic imaging systems presents a challenge to the covert use of Underwater Vehicles (UVs) by Special Forces teams. An acoustic intercept capability is needed to detect active signals before the UV is detected, so that it can vector away from the source. The team of Advanced Acoustic Concepts and Montana State University propose to design and prove the feasibility of an acoustic intercept sensor system based on sparsely populated volumetric array technology. The system will measure bearing with a minimum of 15 degrees of accuracy and will cover a frequency range of 10-512 kHz, while remaining with the strict power and weight requirements for use on a UV. Using the sparse array concept, the signal processing load can be kept to a minimum, allowing weight and power to fit within the required 15 lbs dry weight and 25 W constraints. MSU will leverage its expertise in low power embedded processing to prove the feasibility of using a Field Programmable Gate Array to implement a low power integrated solution using a system-on-a-chip approach that meets AAC’s acoustic intercept processing needs.