Heterogeneous multistatic sonar networks optimization: Literature review and preliminary enhancements

Multistatic (active) Sonar Networks (MSNs) consist of a set of active sonar systems distributed over an Area of Interest (AoI) in a monostatic and/or bistatic configuration. The former refers to the case where the source and receiver are co-located, and the latter to the case where they are separated, sometimes several kilometers apart. Furthermore, here we focus on a specific type of sonar, namely acoustic buoys (sonobuoys), air-dropped onto the AoI by an airborne carrier and divided into three distinct categories: transmitter-only (Tx), receiver-only (Rx) and transmitter–receiver (TxRx). Thus, for example, a sonar system could be formed through the pairing of a TxRx buoy source and an Rx buoy receiver. The performance of a sonar system will then depend directly on the type of buoy from which the source and receiver are derived, introducing the intrinsically heterogeneous character of these MSNs. In Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), when it comes to optimizing the spatial arrangement of the sonars making up these networks, a crucial aspect lies in their evaluation in terms of detection probabilities, in order to derive a certain Measure of Efficiency (MoE) or Measure of Performance (MoP). This article is dedicated to an exhaustive literature review on heterogeneous MSNs and to the derivation of accurate (no errors) and efficient methods for their evaluation, thus enabling detection probabilities to be evaluated much more efficiently than the current state of the art.