TAC PROPOSES TO STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF DETECTION AND LOCALIZING OIL DRUM SIZE OBJECTS ON/IN THE BOTTOM OF SURF ZONES.

TAC PROPOSES TO STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF DETECTION AND LOCALIZING OIL DRUM SIZE OBJECTS ON/IN THE BOTTOM OF SURF ZONES. THE APPROACH IS TO ANALYZE THE PERFORMANCE PROBABILITIES AND DESIGN FEASIBILITY OF LOW FREQUENCY (20 TO 500 HZ) ACTIVE ELECTROMAGNETIC DESIGNS IN A TOWABLE, SUBMERGED HYDROFOIL CONFIGURATION. DETECTION SYSTEMS WOULD BE SUPPLEMENTED FOR LOCALIZATION BY EITHER NAVIGATIONAL FIX METHODS OR RELEASABLE MARKER BUOYS. DETECTION SLANT RANGES OF 10 TO 30 METERS FROM THE HELICOPTER OR SMALL SHIP TOWED HYDROFOIL AND LOCALIZATION TO WITHIN LESS THAN 2 METERS ARE REASONABLE GOALS FOR SUCH A SYSTEM FOR SHALLOW (1-2 METERS) BURIAL DEPTHS. MULTIPLE FOIL-SENSOR ARRAYS WITH TOWING BRIDLES COULD BE EMPLOYED TO INCREASE THE SWEEP RATE AND/OR DETECTION PROBABILITY BUT WITH INCREASE IN SYSTEM COST. ACOUSTIC OR LASER SENSORS DO NOT APPEAR PROMISING BECAUSE OF THE HIGH DISPERSION AND ATTENUATION IN TURBID CONDITIONS AND AGGREGATE BOTTOMS CONTAINING LARGE AMOUNTS OF CORAL OR SHELLS. THE STUDY IS ENVISIONED AS A SIX MONTH EFFORT CONSISTING OF: COORDINATION WITH NCSL AND DEFINITION OF PERFORMANCE, ENVIRONMENT AND CONFIGURATION REQUIREMENTS (START TO 2 MOS), PERFORMANCE EFFECTIVENESS PROBABILITY ANALYSIS FOR MORE DETAILED DESIGNS (1ST THRU 4TH MO) AND PROBABILITIES FOR MOST PROMISING OPTIONS (3RD TO 5TH MO) CULMINATING IN A FINAL REPORT (6 MONTHS).