ON-THE-BOTTOM SURVEILANCE BUOY

A SONOBUOY ON THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN CAN ACHIEVE LONG DETECTION RANGES BY USE OF THE RELIABLE ACOUSTIC PATH (RAP). BY PUTTING AN ACOUSTIC SIGNAL PROCESSOR IN THE BUOY TO DO SPECTRUM ANALYSIS AND CONTACT REPORT GENERATION, THE DATA TRANSMITTED TO SURVEILLANCE AIRCRAFT CAN BE REDUCED TO SHORT BURSTS ON A SCHEDULE THAT MEETS PATROL AIRCRAFT REVISIT REQUIREMENTS FOR INCREASED AIRCRAFT UTILIZATION AT LOWER COST. EMPLOYING ACOUSTIC COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE BOTTOM SENSOR TO STANDARD PASSIVE BUOY DEPLOYED BY THE READOUT AIRCRAFT (AND SERVING AS A COMMUNICATIONS RELAY) CAN ELIMINATE THE HIGH COST AND OFTEN UNRELIABLE ELECTROMECHANICAL LINK OF MOORED BUOYS. A BUOY COST SAVING IN EXCESS OF 80% AND AN AIRCRAFT OPERATING COST REDUCTION BY A FACTOR OF 4 IS ESTIMATED. DEFENSE SYSTEMS, INC. DESIGNED AND BUILT A LOW POWER CONSUMPTION ACOUSTIC SIGNAL PROCESSOR FOR SUCH A BUOY AND DID MANY OF THE TRADEOFF ANALYSES NEEDED BY A DETAILED ENGINEERING DESIGN. THIS EFFORT WILL INTERGRATE DESIGNS OF DEEP ACOUSTIC SENSORS, THE SIGNAL PROCESSOR, THE ACOUSTIC LINK AND THE MECHANICAL