Communications performance of an undersea acoustic large-area network

The U.S. Navy is developing Seaweb acoustic networking capability for integrating undersea systems. Seaweb architectures generally involve a wide-area network of fixed nodes consistent with future distributed autonomous sensors on the seafloor. Mobile nodes including autonomous undersea vehicles (AUVs) and submarines operate in the context of the grid by using the fixed nodes as both navigation reference points and communication access points. In October and November 2004, Theater Anti-Submarine Warfare Exercise (TASWEX04) showcased Seaweb in its first fleet appearance. This paper evaluates the TASWEX04 Seaweb performance in support of networked communications between a submarine and a surface ship. Considerations include physical-layer dependencies on the 9–14 kHz acoustic channel, such as refraction, wind-induced ambient noise, and submarine aspect angle. [Work supported by SSC San Diego.]