Expanded Data Link throughput for Submarines

The Darlington Incorporated SBIR Phase I effort will develop a methodology for improving the communications data link throughput for submarines. A tailored, distributed communications network model will be designed and developed based on known operational and environmental constraints inherent to the mission of a submarine to assess current and alternative systems to improve data throughput. We will replicate the current submarine communications framework to provide a benchmark system, identifying communications systems bottlenecks and limitations to throughput. By iterating the parametric data structures of the model (e.g., antenna loss, bit error rates, propagation delays, and link protocols), we are able to conduct a systems-wide technical modeling, simulation and performance analysis of the submarine communications network. From this baseline, system parameters will be adjusted to optimize channel utilization and maximize data throughput while maintaining data integrity. By leveraging commercial, leading edge advances in antenna design, advanced modulation and coding (source and channel) schemes and lossless data compression techniques, alternative communications data links and technologies that have wide commercial application and availability will be overlaid on the model structure to identify those approaches that have multi-path application and offer the greatest potential for throughput improvements.