AUTONOMOUS SONAR SYSTEM AND METHOD

An autonomous sonar system and method provide an arrangement capable of beamforming in three dimensions, detecting loud targets, adaptively beamforming in three dimensions to avoid the loud targets, detecting quiet targets, localizing the loud or quiet targets in range, bearing, and depth, detecting modulation of noise associated with propellers of the loud or quiet targets, generating three dimensional tracks of the loud or quiet targets in bearing, range and depth, making classification of the loud or quiet targets, assigning probabilities to the classifications, and generating classification reports according to the classifications for communication to a receiving station, all without human assistance.