Video Demonstration

Briefings

Inside GNSS April 2006

Trident Research embarked upon the development of the TARGT^TM system based upon a recognized need for weapons testing and training in broad ocean areas. As noted in the August 2006 issue of the InsideGNSS magazine:

The development and exercising of precision ballistic and guided weapons requires the occasional testing and discharge of those weapons. For newer weapons with greater operational envelopes, this often requires testing over very large areas. To meet this growing requirement, weapon testing and training has migrated from land based firing ranges to offshore ranges, such as the USAF Eglin Offshore Test and Training Area (OTTA) near the northern coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico. Offshore ranges pose a challenge for determining the location of impact. On land, an impact can be sighted and measured after the event, while at sea, an impact can only be observed at the moment of occurrence. This observation must also account for absolute position, which is difficult in an environment without any landmarks.

Several methods have been used to determine the location of an offshore impact event. All these methods rely on knowing the location of the observation point and the direction or distance to the observed event. GPS provides the primary method for determining the location of the observation sensors. Direction can be measured by sighted instruments such as optics or radar, while distances can be measured by active radar and passive underwater acoustic arrival time. The Tactical Acoustic Realtime Geolocation and Training (TARGT^TM) system, developed by Trident Research LLC, is a distributed array of underwater acoustic sensosrs and shipboard command and control station which incorporates GPS, acoustical processing, and communiciations to provide a low cost underwater acoustic method for locating offshore weapon impacts.

Trident has exploited some of the inherent advantages of underwater acoustics to provide a remote over water weapons scoring and training capability with its TARGT^TM system. Among these advantages include the ability to operate during the day or at night, in poor environmental conditions including fog and heavy precipitation, and in broad ocean areas regardless of sea state or depth of water. Through the deployment of multiple acoustic sensors in and about the impact area, the TARGT^TM system is capable of sub-meter accurate 2D weapons scoring in broad ocean areas. Some of the specific capabilities available include:

Accuracy and Timing
•    Scoring of single water impact events to within +/- 1 meter (2D)
•    Scoring of simultaneous water impact +/- 1 meter (2D)
•    Timing of single water impact events to within +/- 1 millisecond
•    Timing of simultaneous water impact events to within +/- 1 millisecond
•    Realtime single impact processing within 30 seconds
•    Realtime simultaneous impact processing within 2 minutes

Utility
•    Supportable over any size test area (typically 10 sensors covers a 2km x 2 km area)
•    Deployable and operable in up to sea state 5 conditions
•    Realtime situational awareness, health and status monitoring of all system components
•    Minimal 1 person system set-up, currently <2 hrs for 10 sensor network
•    Minimal 1 person system operation
•    Full operation and recording for up to 8 hours of continuous operation
•    Operability in all weather conditions, day, night, rain, fog, etc.
•    Fully integrated meteorological subsystem for volumetric field weather measurements
•    Transportable and deployable from a single small support ship (deployements from 30 ft vessels demonstrated)
•    Windows XP-based GUI interfaces for all data processing and analysis tools

Portability
•    Single person deployable (sensor weight < 30 lbs)
•    Wireless connectivity between all sensors and command and control systems
•    Transportable and deployable from a single small support ship
•    Sensor transportable  for OCONUS fielding

The TARGT^TM system has been exercised in numerous USAF field testing operations and is presently undergoing a major technology upgrade to improve reliability and reduce sensor cost. The enhanced TARGT^TM system is scheduled for field demonstration.