Miniaturized Commandable Impulsive Acoustic Source Technology for Multi-Static Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW)

Antisubmarine warfare is tending toward the increased use of deployed expendable sensors. Weight and volume of the sensors is of particular concern for ship based ASW helicopters and their host ships. The subject SBIR will offer analysis and design of an impulsive miniaturized acoustic source commandable by the launching aircraft, enabling significant area search capability from the MH-60R helicopter, particularly valuable in its role as the aircraft for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The MJU-10 expendable flare size is used as a convenient available military form factor that will allow carriage and launch from existing launchers. Use of innovative initiation technology will allow for multiple pulses to be generated from this form factor, and also may allow the same source package to be used for both search and localization missions. The logistic benefits for ship based helicopters and stowage issues aboard these ships will mean smaller magazine requirements, easier and safer handling aboard ship, more capable ASW performance from embarked assets, and in the future, in combination with miniaturized receivers, could enable deployment and relay from future Firescout Vertical Takeoff Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (VTUAV) also planned to be embarked on LCS.BENEFITS: The oil survey industry presently uses air guns to provide an impulsive acoustic source to perform sub-bottom profiling. This SBIR would provide for a safe, reliable, commandable alternative to the use of these air guns.