Abstract
This paper proposes an innovative command and control system design and the use of low, cost distributed sensor
networks for an intelligent maritime security system. This concept utilizes a network of small passive and active
multi-phenomenological unattended sensors and shore based optical sensors to detect, classify, and track submerged
threat objects approaching high value coastal assets, such as ports, harbors, residential, commercial, and military
facilities and areas. The network of unattended, in-water sensors perform the initial detection, classification, and
coarse tracking and then queues shore based optical laser radar sensors. These shore-based sensors perform a high
resolution sector search to develop a precision track on the submerged threat objects. Potential threat objects include
submarines, submerged barges, UUV's, swimmers carrying threat objects such as explosives, chemical, biological,
radiological, and nuclear materials. Reliable systems with low false alarm rates (FAR) are proposed. Tens to
hundreds of low cost passive sensors are proposed to be deployed conjunctively with several active acoustic and
optical sensors in threat and facility dependant patterns to maximize the detection, tracking and classification of
submerged threat objects.
