DEFENSE ACQUISITIONS: Testing Needed to Prove SURTASS/LFA Effectiveness in Littoral Waters
Abstract
For decades, the Navy has been striving to improve its ability to detect potential enemy submarines before they can get within effective weapons range of U.S. forces. In 1985, the Navy established the Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System (SURTASS) Low Frequency Active (LFA) sonar program to develop a long-range capability for detecting a new generation of quieter Soviet nuclear and diesel submarines operating principally in the open ocean. Since the end of the Cold War, the Navy has shifted its focus to include regional conflicts and the threat posed by diesel-electric submarines operating in littoral waters. The Navy continued to develop SURTASS/LFA because it showed technological potential to detect objects at great distances. Sound produced at low frequencies can travel further underwater than sound produced at higher frequencies.2 However, as the Navy conducted testing of the system in the mid-199Os, some public interest groups and scientists raised concerns that SURTASS/LFA may cause harm to marine mammals. The Navy discontinued operational testing of the system and initiated an environmental impact statement process. Currently, the Navy will not begin testing or operating the system until it receives a Letter of Authorization from the National Marine Fisheries Service. According to Navy officials, a decision on the authorization is expected later in 2002. In addition, some of the same groups that have raised environmental concerns have questioned whether SURTASS/LFA will increase the Navy's undersea detection capabilities and whether the Navy has an alternative for the system.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA402657
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office