Significant Achievements by NRE, DREA and DRDC Atlantic

AN/SQS-510 Active Sonar

Developed through the combined efforts of DREA, naval engineers from NDHQ, and Computing Devices Canada of Ottawa, Ontario, the AN/SQS-510 medium-frequency active sonar ranks among the finest of its type in the world today. Its advanced digital processor, software and displays perform exceptionally well, and it can be programmed for special operations such as detecting submarines in shallow water, avoiding mines and defending against torpedoes. The 510 sonar will be installed aboard Canada's patrol frigates and refitted 280-class helicopter destroyers. Several other countries are also interested in buying it.

Automated Pressure Hull Intelligent Ultrasonic System (APHIUS)

APHIUS is an ultrasonic technology developed by DREA, the FMC Cape Scott, and Tektrend International of Montreal. Pattern recognition techniques are used to locate and classify flaws in welds and laminations, and to detect corrosion thinning in metal plate. The 1994 refit of HMCS Ojibwa was completed well ahead of schedule because the boat was cut in half to permit her engines to be extracted, serviced and replaced intact. Rapid automated verification of the integrity of the boat's pressure hull, provided by APHIUS, made this efficient method possible.

Cathodic Protection System

As a result of wartime research, the cathodic protection system was developed in the 1950s to prevent underwater corrosion of ship hulls. An anode was fitted to the hull and electrical power supplied to reverse the current normally caused by corrosion and, hence, to eliminate it. This system, which also required research to improve antifouling paints, has been adopted by most navies and shipping companies, with savings estimated in the billions of dollars.

Hydrofoil Ships

Research at NRE in the 1950s demonstrated that the seakeeping capability of the hydrofoil ship, both hullborne and foilborne, made it potentially the smallest surface vehicle capable of sustained anti-submarine operation in the open ocean. Consequently, the Canadian Forces embarked on an ambitious program in 1963 to design and construct the 200 ton HMCS Bras D'or. Rough water trials validated the concept, showing the ship capable of maintaining high speed at least through sea state 5, with excellent seakeeping qualities when hullborne.

Ship Design and Analysis Tools

Beginning in the early 1970s, DREA started development of computer-based ship design and analysis tools, including: concept exploration models for use in the earliest stages of the ship design process, the SHIPMO series of ship motion prediction codes, the VAST suite of finite element codes for structural analysis, and code for the design of noise-reduced propellers. These tools played an important role in the specification of the Canadian Patrol Frigate, and are widely recognized, and frequently used by several other allied navies.

Route Surveying System

Mine Torpedo Defence Group at DREA achieved a significant milestone in 1998 with completion of the Sea Acceptance Tests for the SQS 510 Route Survey Sonar System. Their research ideas had been transformed into an operational system for the Canadian Navy. Four route survey sonar systems will be fitted aboard the Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels (MCDVs), and two Route Survey Data Analysis Facilities are being established in Victoria and Halifax.

Sonobuoys

Advances in conventional sonobuoys over the years have been more than offset by improvements in the performance and quietness of the submarine. The Vertical Line Array sonobuoy, pioneered by NRE in the 1960s and developed by industry in the 1970s, has been in service with the Canadian Forces for many years. It represented a new departure in sonobuoys design, with significantly improved performance. In the 1980s, the feasibility of miniature sonobuoys was demonstrated, to enable aircraft and ships to carry and deploy many more sonobuoys than is currently the case.

Teamed Architecture Signal Processor and CANTASS

Research at DREA in the early 1970s resulted in a novel architecture for a fully programmable floating-point signal processor. Through a series of contracts with the Canadian industry, a militarized version was developed which provides supercomputer power in a sea-going package. It is used in two Canadian sonar; the AN/SQS-510 medium frequency active sonar and the AN/SQR-501 CANTASS towed array sonar. Variants of the processor have been sold in both the USA and Australia. The teamed Architecture Signal Processor and the AN/SQS-510 laid the foundation of CANTASS which entered service with the Canadian Patrol Frigates and provides the Navy with an excellent passive acoustic detection capability. CANTASS is among the most advanced surface ship towed array sonars in the world.

Variable Depth Sonar

Early post-war trials proved that a sonar set lowered into the water depths gave generally improved detection ranges against submerged targets, over a hull-mounted set. This prompted an intensive effort involving acoustic propagation, hydrodynamic studies and sonar design, which culminated in 1958 in a successful Variable Depth Sonar (VDS) system. Such systems have since become the sonar equipment component in the destroyers of most navies.

Self Locating Datum Marker Buoy

A gold medal was awarded, at the Distinction 98 Awards Gala, for the development of a new, highly effective tool for maritime search and rescue (SAR). The SAR tool, known as Self Locating Datum Marker Buoy, is an air deployable buoy that uses satellite technology to calculate and convey information on wind and ocean current conditions to a Rescue Coordination Center for use in their SAR simulation software. The accuracy of the information provided by these buoys has already been credited with the saving of at least one life.

Airborne Integrated LFA/Passive Sonars

The Integrated Multistatic Passive Active Concept Testbed (IMPACT) system is a next-generation airborne multistatic processing system for the Aurora Maritime Patrol Aircraft. Developed over a number of years by DREA, with assistance from MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates of Halifax, Nova Scotia, the IMPACT system provides an avenue through which advanced acoustic signal processing and sonar display concepts are developed, demonstrated, and refined for use by Canada's maritime aviation forces. It has served as a demonstration platform for cutting-edge technology and as a model from which the specifications for operational systems have been drawn. The IVASP system being developed by Computing Devices Canada, for service on the Aurora, will provide Canada with an early operational capability in low frequency active sonar and will serve as a means to move forward toward multiplatform coordinated underwater warfare.