Vector Hydrophone Torpedo Defense Array

An advanced vector hydrophone towed array is proposed for surface ship torpedo defense applications. Vector hydrophone promise to provide much-needed array gain in aperture-constrained systems. The additional gain results in significant increases in detection ranges and/or decreases in false alarm rates. A physics-based vector sensor array simulator will be developed in a modular architecture. The modules will be specialized for vector hydrophones and include target propagation modeling, noise contributions from electronic, flow, ambient, and own-ship, vector hydrophone calibration mismatches, beamforming, and detection and localization. The primary emphasis will be on beamforming, detection, and localization enhancements optimized for vector hydrophone arrays. A new intensity beamformer will be explored to determine its array gain and detection performance. Multiple target detection and localization using a vector sensor array will also be investigated. The simulator will be used to develop candidate array designs for a Phase II demonstration.