Environmentally adaptive sonar system

Abstract

The vertical beamwidth of the received beam of a return signal of a sonar system is adaptively modified as a function of water depth, altitude and range. The received beam is also vertically steered as a function of altitude and is steered at least once prior to the adaptive modification of the beamwidth. The vertical aperture is thereafter grown as a function of range by increasing the number selected elements in the hydrophone array. This is achieved by dynamically controlling a vertical beamformer by controlling the number of elements selected and the vertical steering angle in response to sensors which provide, among other things, data as to water depth, altitude or sonar depth, platform dynamics, and sonar range/time.