Multi-Sensor Sonobuoy

A Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I study is proposed for the development of a sonobuoy that includes acoustic, magnetic and electric field sensors. This effort will include a brief survey of the various acoustic, magnetic-field, and E-field sensors that will meet the requirements for use in an air-dropped undersea sensor system that will provide an increased detection range. The proposed sensor system will comprise an expendable A-size sonobuoy with an acoustic sensor, a total-field magnetometer, and a 3-axis E-field sensor that will be deployed by the ASW aircraft as part of the detection and localization phase of the mission. Various suspension systems and deployment schemes will be studied to determine the optimum configuration for this application. The performance enhancement of this combined system will be quantified for various sensors, sensor geometries, target signatures, and background noises.