AN/BQG-5 Wide Aperture Array

The AN/BQG-5 Wide Aperture Array is a flank array on the SSN-688 Los Angeles attack submarines. The AN/BQG-5 WAA System was designed and developed for the SSN 688 Class (Los Angeles) submarine as a stand-alone back-fit to the 688 Class. The WAA gives the 688 Class a state-of-the-art passive target location capability. This long range passive target location promotes ship Self-Protection by providing a first strike capability.

With the following exceptions, there are no differences in the acoustic models used to generate Flank (WAA) array data.

1. The first of these exceptions is that this array has a variable upper frequency limit. A special table in the sensor suite data file stores array upper frequency limits which are a function of array geometry and target location. The Flank array model first retrieves an arrival angle from the prop loss tables based on target depth and range, own ship position, propagation path, and a selected frequency specified in the sensor suite data file. The target bearing and arrival angle are then used to select an upper frequency limit. This frequency is then used as the upper frequency range for subsequent SNR calculations. From this point on the modeling is identical for all arrays.
2. The second exception which is made for flank arrays is that the panels of the array are spatially distributed. From a detection standpoint, the array is treated as a single receiver, however the user can specify an array spacing parameter which is used to generate receive delays for each panel. Mid-bow and mid-stern delay times are generated based on target bearing, and range. These delay times can then be used by TMA algorithms to generate range estimates for a given target.
3. Finally, the Flank array requires an initial detection from either the towed or spherical arrays to initiate Flank detection processing. Once the Flank array has been steered to a taret from an initial towed or spherical bearing, it will attempt to detect a contact.

Division Newport's Lightweight Planar Array technology has been applied to the AN/ BQG-5 Wide Aperture Array (WAA) sonar panels. It reduced the weight of the array panels by 54 percent (compared with the original WAA Engineering Development Model), and acquisition cost savings of 37 percent are expected.

A subset of the seven sensor AN/BSY-2 Combat System, the single sensor AN/BQG-5, was deployed on the USS Augusta in 1994, and initialized properly the first time it was powered up on the submarine, and generally performed outstanding in its first sea trials.

On 27 December 1995 Loral Federal Systems Company, Manassas, Virginia, was awarded a$18,478,099 fixed-price-incentive-fee contract for one AN/BQG-5(V) Passive Sonar Receiving Set (PSRS) and ancillary equipment, engineering services, and aspecial corrosion warranty. Work was to be performed in Manassas, Virginia(45%), with subcontractors performing the remaining work in Annapolis, Maryland(42%), Portsmouth, Rhode Island (10%), and Woodland Hills, California (1%), and other numerous vendor provided material (2%) (all subcontractor percentagesbeing approximate). Work was to be completed by December 1998. Contract fundswill expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured through full and open competition with 25 proposalssolicited and two offers received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.