Technology for Affordability

The towed array capabilities of the US Navy combine high reliability, high channel count, long aperture and low self noise to provide an underwater acoustic superiority not matched by any other Navy. This superiority has also brought with it unwanted high production costs for these arrays. The next generation of Naval towed arrays with increasingly larger aperture may be out of the reach of a cost conscience Navy. The innovative technology described in this proposal will dramatically reduce the costs of providing this underwater acoustic superiority by automating the construction of towed arrays. It will provide a continuous array design ideally suited for optical hydrophones and telemetry. It will dramatically reduce the number of modules used to form an array and eliminate the fiber and strength member splices required at these terminations. The technology uses machine wrapped open cell foam, machine wrapped optical fibers which carry the telemetrized hydrophone signals, machine installed internal strength members, and a continuously extruded outer hose wall. This automated construction maintains high array reliability in a low flow noise hydroacoustic design while dramatically reducing the fabrication costs.