IMPACT SCORING OF MISSILES, BOMBS AND TORPEDOES IS MOST ACCURATELY DONE USING A SONOBUOY MISSILE IMPACT LOCATION SYSTEM (SMILS).

IMPACT SCORING OF MISSILES, BOMBS AND TORPEDOES IS MOST ACCURATELY DONE USING A SONOBUOY MISSILE IMPACT LOCATION SYSTEM (SMILS). CURRENTLY, EACH SONOBUOY USES A DEEP OCEAN TRANSPONDER (DOT) AS A GEODETIC REFERENCE WHICH LIMITS THE FLEXIBILITY OF THEIR LOCATIONS. THE TECHNIQUE PROPOSED FOR THIS SBIR UTILIZES A RADAR TRANSMITTER AND AN INTERFEROMETRIC RECEIVER TO DETERMINE THE PRECISE LINE OF SIGHT AND RANGE TO EACH SONOBUOY. POSITION ACCURACIES OF LESS THAN 1 METER SHOULD BE ACHIEVABLE. MANY SONOBUOYS CAN BE TRACKED WITH THE SAME TRACKING SYSTEM. THESE SONOBUOYS WOULD NEED NO OCEAN REFERENCE; THEREFORE, THEY COULD BE DEPLOYED OVER THE OCEAN IMPACT AREA FROM AN AIRCRAFT OR A SHIP WITHIN RF RANGE OF THE SHORE TRACKING SYSTEM. THE PRIMARY EFFORT DURING THIS PHASE I STUDY IS TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF THE PROPOSED SONOBUOY TRACKING SYSTEM. TRADEOFF ANALYSES WILL BE CONDUCTED TO DEFINE THE BEST CONCEPT. THE SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AND PERFORMANCE WILL BE DETERMINED IN SUFFICIENT DETAIL TO PROVIDE THE BASIS FOR A PHASE II PROOF OF CONCEPT DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. A TEST PLAN WITH SUBSCALE TESTS TO DEMONSTRATE SYSTEM PERFORMANCE AND COMPONENT TESTS TO DEMONSTRATE THE HARDWARE FEASIBILITY WILL BE COMPLETED DURING THE PHASE I PROGRAM.