India, Oz to develop tech for tracking submarines

India and Australia have launched a joint research project to enhance the tracking of submarines and autonomous underwater vehicles, focusing on underwater acoustics and early detection technologies.

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Announced by Australia’s Defence Ministry on Thursday, the three-year project will be conducted by Australian Defence Science and Technology Group’s (DSTG) Information Sciences Division and its Indian counterpart agency, the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory.

The Indo-Australian research will focus on towed sonar systems, deployed via flexible cables behind ships, to enhance the reliability, efficiency and interoperability of underwater surveillance. A key component of the project is ‘target motion analysis’ — the development of algorithms to estimate the position and movement of underwater targets.

“Target motion analysis is a crucial element in maintaining platform situational awareness, especially when operating in passive mode,” the Australian Defence Ministry stated.

The research will utilise ‘towed array sonar’ — a system consisting of multiple hydrophones arranged along a cable trailing behind a surface ship or submarine. These hydrophones detect underwater sounds from various directions, which are then processed to identify, filter and track acoustic signals emitted by potential maritime targets.

India, separately, is ramping up its own underwater surveillance efforts. The Defence Acquisition Council has approved the procurement of submersible autonomous vessels to enhance anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities. In addition, India is developing unmanned surface and undersea platforms and building 16 new shallow-water anti-submarine warfare vessels designed to detect enemy submarines in shallow waters.