Article Tools

• 

The Space and Naval Warfare Center in Charleston has awarded Applied Signal Technology Inc., a $5 million contract to provide up to five interferometric synthetic aperture sonar (InSAS) systems. The contract requires Applied Signal Technology (AST) to provide a real-time, low-power InSAS system that provides high-resolution imagery and bathymetry and that fits existing medium-to-large autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV). The Navy has ordered one system.

Synthetic Aperture Sonar (SAS) is emerging as an ideal sensor for AUV-based wide-area seafloor surveillance, sea-mine localization and other applications. AST successfully fielded its Prosas real-time SAS processor on a commercial mission-ready AUV in 2004. By using vehicle motion to create a long synthetic array, Prosas has the potential to increase image resolution by an order of magnitude or more compared to traditional sidescan sonars. The SAS technology is also well suited for interferometric processing, providing co-located, high-resolution bathymetry and imaging from the same sensor.

Applied Signal Technology provides advanced digital signal processing products, systems and services in support of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for global security.