Advanced Techniques for Enhanced Deep-Sea Object Detection and Localization for Towed Mine Countermeasures (MCM) Sonar

The Navy is seeking SBIR solutions to improve deep-sea object detection and localization for towed mine countermeasures sonar, with the goal of increasing sensor range and depth performance. The work focuses on innovative hardware, software, algorithms, or related techniques that can enhance existing high-frequency minehunting systems, including the AN/AQS-20 and AN/AQS-24, while remaining compatible with current architecture and resources. Proposed solutions should fit within stated tow body size, weight, and power limits if hardware is included, or run in the tow body sensor processors or back-end post mission analysis processors if software-based, and should improve detection while reducing false alarms. The solicitation is pre-release, with the topic release date on May 6, 2026, the open date on May 27, 2026, and applications due June 24, 2026 at 4:00 PM UTC.