Optimized multistatic sonobuoy array patterns

Abstract

Standard patterns for monostatic sonobuoy fields were developed during the Cold War for deep, uniform underwater environments, where a simple median detection range defined a fixed spacing between sonobuoys (usually along staggered lines). Oceanographic and acoustic conditions in littoral environments are so complex and dynamic that spatial and temporal variability of low-frequency signal and noise fields destroys the basic homogeneous assumption associated with standard tactical search concepts. Genetic algorithms (GAs) have been applied to this problem to produce near-optimal, nonstandard search tracks for monostatic mobile sensors that maximize probability of detection in such inhomogeneous environments. For the present work, a new capability, SCOUT (sensor coordination for optimal utilization and tactics) was developed to simulate multistatic distributed-sensor geometries and to optimize the locations of multistatic active sonobuoys in a complex, littoral environment. Both standard and SCOUT-derived tactics were evaluated for cumulative detection probability and compared. The results show (a) that the standard pattern is not optimal even for a homogeneous environment and (b) that standard patterns are grossly ineffective in inhomogeneous environments. [Work was sponsored by NAVAIR.]