Common D&R System for MCM USV

The Navy has demonstrated that two towed sonar systems, the AN/AQS-20C and the AN/AQS-24B can perform the Mine Hunting mission from the Mine Countermeasures USV. The two sonars use different towing configurations, shoulder tow and nose tow, which currently requires replacement of the entire deploy and retrieve (D&R) system. The objective of this project is to develop a common deploy and retrieve system for towed sonars. Within this R&D effort a single system will be demonstrated in a relevant environment that can deploy and recover both shoulder towed and nose-towed sonar systems whose body diameters range from 10.29” to 15.5”, that is lighter than the current systems, has high reliability, and can transition between towed sonars in the field. The objective of this Phase I effort is to mature the concept design presented in this proposal by developing sufficient details of the required features, predicted motions, and controls required of the common D&R system so that an assessment can be made of the feasibility of the proposed D&R system to meet the objectives. The attributes of the common D&R system are also attractive to commercial users of towed sonars, for example surveys of oil and gas pipelines.