The US Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Carderock Division has selected Sonardyne Inc.’s underwater target tracking technology to use at its South Florida Ocean Measurement Facility (SFOMF).

Described as the largest, most comprehensive establishment of its kind in the world, Carderock Division is the US Navy’s research, engineering, modeling, and test center for surface and undersea technologies. Located close to the Gulf Stream, Carderock’s SFOMF offers a “demanding open ocean test environment” for subsea systems and UUVs being developed for the Navy, as well as the wider maritime industry. 

In an effort to support this work, Carderock Division has ordered Sonardyne’s high accuracy Ranger 2 Ultra Short Baseline (USBL) acoustic tracking system, with the additions of a GyroUSBL transceiver, Nano and Wideband Sub-Mini 6 Plus (WSM 6+) transponders. When mobilized aboard vessels-of-opportunity, the Ranger 2 system will allow operators to track the precise underwater position of any subsea system or UUV that comes through the SFOMF for testing.

With the Ranger 2 system, systems can be tracked in both shallow and deep water, near the surface and over very long ranges.

If both Nano and WSM 6+ transponders are purchased, all sizes of vehicle can be accommodated, from man-portable models to extra-large (XLUUV) designs.

“This system will more than meet Navy expectations,” says Dan Zatezalo, Technical Sales Manager at Sonardyne Inc. “Our Ranger 2 GyroUSBL is a survey grade acoustic positioning system with built-in attitude and heading sensors, which makes moving it from vessel to vessel easy, with no new calibration required.”

Zatezalo continues, “used alongside Nano, our smallest ever, rechargeable acoustic transponder, and WSM 6+ transponders, which both support our secure Wideband 2 signal protocols, the NSWC has a high-performance and time-saving system for its operations at Maryland. This sale also further embeds our commercial-off-the-shelf capabilities, field-proven within the US offshore energy and science sectors, into the North American defence market.”

For more than 50 years, the SFOMF has housed an “active, continuously operating” Navy range. The SFOMF’s main mission is to perform electromagnetic signature tests of Navy assets, using multiple fixed, in-water electromagnetic and acoustic measurement sites.

Other activities that take place at the facility include testing and evaluating mine detection, countermeasures and mine response; performing acoustic measurements; and acquiring radar cross section and infrared signatures.