Award

SeaLandAire (SLA) will build on the work done in the Phase I effort to address the NavyÆs need for a strengthened, full-duplex communications datalink between the surface unit of a sonobuoy and its suspended payload, as described in Navy SBIR Topic N221-023. SLA, along with our partner AFFOA, will develop, build and test prototype tethers. ĀWe will design a fiber optic based tether which will act both as a strength member to support the suspended payload and as a high data rate communication pathway between the payload and the upper unit of the sonobuoy, and develop innovations with respect to existing challenges in buoy operational life / mean time between failure, unit production cost, and tensile strength.Ā We will work with the manufacturer to develop and revise the materials and their fabrication processes, as required, to produce prototype quantities of the FO tether toward an eventual low cost product.Ā The prototype tethers will be evaluated in the lab, freshwater, and the ocean to measure performance against metrics and provide feedback for improvement to meet specifications.Ā We will develop and fabricate sonobuoy subassemblies and an A-size sonobuoy configuration that will be used to evaluate the FO tether in the relevant ocean environment.Ā This will include winding the tether into deployable packs, and transmitting representative data through the tether.