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Sonobuoy System and Concept of Operations for Time-Reversal-Based Target Detection

Award Information
Agency: Department of Defense
Branch: Navy
Contract: N68335-07-C-0264
Agency Tracking Number: N071-014-0827
Amount: $149,976.00
Phase: Phase I
Program: SBIR
Solicitation Topic Code: N07-014
Solicitation Number: 2007.1
Timeline
Solicitation Year: 2007
Award Year: 2007
Award Start Date (Proposal Award Date): 2007-05-03
Award End Date (Contract End Date): 2007-11-03
Small Business Information
475 Bridge Street Suite 100
Groton, CT 06340
United States
DUNS: 112716357
HUBZone Owned: No
Woman Owned: No
Socially and Economically Disadvantaged: No
Principal Investigator
 Joshua Wilson
 Scientist
 (860) 448-3253
 jwilson@aphysci.com
Business Contact
 David Horne
Title: Vice President/Business Manager
Phone: (860) 448-3253
Email: dhorne@aphysci.com
Research Institution
N/A
Abstract

Existing multistatic airborne ASW systems require high power sources and are unable exploit the significant forward scattering target strengths due to the blinding presence of the direct blast. Time reversal (TR) is a recent method for focusing acoustic energy at a point using a pair of vertical line transducer arrays and offers the opportunity to exploit forward scattering from submarines. TR focusing can provide a measure of propagation channel stability, which provides a means for determining when the medium is disrupted as would occur when a scatterer such as a submarine passes between the two arrays. Moreover, because there is significant spatio-temporal focusing gain to be had with TR, there exists the opportunity to use lower power transmissions. Here we propose to determine the feasibility of a TR sonobuoy system for airborne ASW in the frequency band of a DICASS (AN/SSQ-62) sonobuoy and using vertical line arrays similar in dimension to a VLAD (AN/SSQ-77) sonobuoy. Operating at DICASS frequencies allows for achievable array apertures, exploits extremely high forward target strengths (> 50 dB) and improves the sensitivity of the TR. Post Phase I efforts would include implementing modifications to existing sonobuoy hardware for in-water demonstrations.

* Information listed above is at the time of submission. *

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