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A towed array sonar is a system of hydrophones towed behind a submarine or a surface ship on a cable.[1] Trailing the hydrophones behind the vessel, on a cable that can be kilometers long, keeps the array's sensors away from the ship's own noise sources, greatly improving its signal-to-noise ratio, and hence the effectiveness of detecting and tracking faint contacts, such as quiet, low noise-emitting submarine threats, or seismic signals.[2]
A towed array offers superior resolution and range compared with hull-mounted sonar. It also covers the baffles, the blind spot of hull-mounted sonar. However, effective use of the system limits a vessel's speed and care must be taken to protect the cable from damage.
- ^ Petr Tichavský and Kainam Thomas Wong (January 2004). "Quasi-Fluid-Mechanics-Based Quasi-Bayesian Cramér–Rao Bounds for Deformed Towed-Array Direction Finding" (PDF). IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON SIGNAL PROCESSING. Vol. 52 (1 ed.). p. 36. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2010-10-08.
- ^ Carlo Kopp (December 2009). "Identification underwaterwith towed array sonar" (PDF). Defence Today. pp. 32–33.