INTEGRATED MISSION SOLUTIONS DD(X ... - Raytheon

DD(X) (continued)
The Integrated
Undersea Warfare
System (IUSW)
provides DD(X) with
undersea dominance.
Using hullmounted
and
towed acoustic
sensors operating
over two frequency
bands, IUSW integrates
acoustic,
environmental and radar data to
address the Anti-Submarine Warfare
(ASW), In-Stride Mine Avoidance
(ISMA) and Torpedo Defense (TD) missions.
While IUSW uses the latest in
sensor and electronic technologies, the
greatest technical challenge is to
reduce crew levels for DD(X) while
improving sonar performance. To meet
this challenge, IUSW uses the open
architecture of the DD(X) Total Ship
Computing Environment (TSCE) to
implement advanced signal processing,
using state of the art techniques in
automation, environmental adaptation
and human-system interface.
Highly advanced automation is needed
to continually search for undersea
threats. The large undersea battlespace
and the varied threats require searching
many acoustic beams over multiple
frequency bands, searching for various
acoustic signatures. Enhancing
automation techniques improves sonar
performance while significantly reducing
the number of steps a sonar operator
must take to search the ocean
environment for threats. IUSW incorporates
automated detection, classification
and localization (DCL) for each
acoustic sensor to minimize false
12 summer 2003
Integrated
Undersea Warfare System
Conceptual images of the Integrated Undersea Warfare System’s sensor arrays mounted in the DD(X) bow
below the waterline.
alarms and eliminate false dismissals of
valid targets. Data fusion automatically
correlates acoustic sensors and integrates
data from non-acoustic sensors
to further enhance localization and
classification performance.
Environmental adaptation dynamically
adjusts for the ever-changing acoustic
environment in the ocean. These environmental
changes dramatically affect
acoustic propagation, and, if not
accounted for, will significantly
degrade sonar performance. IUSW
automatically monitors the ocean’s
acoustic conditions and assesses environmental
data. Using acoustic and
non-acoustic sensors to gather information,
IUSW models the surrounding
ocean environment for acoustic propagation,
then uses this data to set up
the sonar for optimum performance
and to alert the operator to the current
acoustic scenario.
The Human-System Interface (HSI) provides
operators with the information
needed to respond quickly to acoustic
events. An operator must be alerted,
review the sensor information, assess
the situation and take action for each
potential threat. With the large undersea
battlespace and multiple missions,
an operator cannot review all of the
data needed to keep track of the
entire battlespace. HSI techniques will
reduce the workload for the operators.
IUSW uses next-generation sonar displays
to provide for mission planning,
automated alerts, evaluation tools,
intelligent agents and decision aids for
the operator.
Historically, up to ten operators have
been required to handle all of the
IUSW missions – ASW, ISMA and TD.
By using state-of-the-art techniques in
automation, environmental adaptation
and HSI, IUSW reduces the operations
needed to conduct these missions by
80% while improving sonar performance.
These techniques allow two
sonar operators to control the entire
IUSW suite at peak performance while
simultaneously responding to demanding
undersea tactical situations. ■
– Tom McHale