US Navy contracts Sonardyne for underwater tracking system deliveries

The US Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Carderock Division, has awarded Houston-based Sonardyne Inc. a contract to deliver its underwater target tracking technology for use at the South Florida Ocean Measurement Facility (SFOMF).

Located in Maryland, Carderock Division is the US Navy’s research, engineering, modelling, and test centre for surface and undersea technologies.

Thanks to its proximity to the Gulf Stream, Carderock’s SFOMF provides a demanding open ocean test environment for subsea systems and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) in development for both the navy and wider maritime industry.

To support this work, Carderock Division has ordered Sonardyne’s high accuracy Ranger 2 Ultra Short Baseline (USBL) acoustic tracking system, complete with a GyroUSBL transceiver, Nano and Wideband Sub-Mini 6 Plus (WSM 6+) transponders.

Mobilized aboard vessels-of-opportunity, the Ranger 2 system will enable operators to track the precise underwater position of any subsea system or UUV that comes through the SFOMF for testing. The system offers the capability of tracking systems in both shallow and deep water, near the surface and over very long ranges. By purchasing both Nano and WSM 6+ transponders, all sizes of vehicle can be accommodated, from man-portable models through to extra-large (XLUUV) designs.