SBIR/STTR Award attributes
Ensuring access for carrier battle groups and other assets to strategic crossroads is a critical Navy priority. The proliferation and increasing capabilities of quiet diesel/electric submarines, combined with the challenging acoustic characteristics of littoral waters create a significant challenge, particularly for current tactical ASW systems, which are primarily platform centric and designed for mono-static operations. This approach limits the coverage area for each platform and increases the detect-to-kill timeline. Improving ASW effectiveness by extending key platform coverage areas through multi-statics and increased interoperability will better defend the carrier fleet in all ASW mission areas.The opportunity, then, for this SBIR Phase II effort is to develop a prototype MFAS (Mid Frequency Active Sonobuoy) in an A-size form factor capable of significantly improving the ASW effectiveness across multiple platforms, through increased coverage via multistatics and platform interoperability. Our Phase 1 research developed a top-level prototype MFAS design that is ready to take forward by prototyping and testing to validate the performance required to realize the Navy expectations for MFAS.
