Localization in Airborne Multistatic Sonars

Location of a target detected by an air-deployed multistatic sonar can be determined using various cross fixes based on signal/echo time-of-arrival data and bearings from the sonobuoys involved in the contact. The resultant multiple measurements of the target location generally differ from each other and are not precise due to the input errors such as the sonobuoy positioning, target bearing, and temporal errors. To combine these individual measurements into an estimate that has the minimal mean square error, we employ the Wiener filter. We examine how this estimation error depends on the input errors and assess the extent to which the reduction of sonobuoy positioning errors can improve contact localization.