Target detection simulation by a passive buoy field to protect an aircraft-carrier task force

The performances of present and future sonobuoy sensors in detecting a quieter 1990s threat are compared. Sonobuoy patterns are laid using the author´s SV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft navigation algorithm. Sound propagation is calculated using a US Navy ocean mode. Typical threat acoustic-source levels, ocean-noise levels, and sonobuoy-sensor gain values are used to estimate sonobuoy performance. Results show theoretical target detection and tracking accuracies. Simulation results show that the DIFAR sensor performs well at the first convergence zone, but that at other ranges the bearing accuracy degrades substantially. The horizontal-line array (HLA) sensor performs well at all intermediate ranges, because of the higher directivity of the array