The impact of naval requirements on sonar development

Abstract

A “walk” through history from WWI to today provides an overview of sonar system evolution. The time and spatial constraints of Naval sonar systems are not necessarily consistent with those required for scientific studies of the ocean and its boundaries. The pressure from these competing purposes has resulted in major advances, but also compromises in sonar design and implementation. The circumstances of the Cold War led to complications in the relations between ocean scientists and undersea warfare specialists, in turn leading to competition for limited resources and consequent weak cooperation between the communities. The result was a slowing of the development pace of acoustic systems. More recently, re-convergence has occurred and improved, multi-purpose sonar systems are the norm.