Developing a Very-Shallow Underwater Test Bed for Munitions Technology Demonstration

Deployment and retrieval strategies for UneXploded Ordnance (UXO) in nearshore test beds face challenges for maintaining required ground truth, as this region of very-shallow water may be both hydrodynamically energetic and morphodynamically active. The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) and the Naval Research Laboratory South (NRL South) were recently tasked by the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) to set up such a test bed in 0-5 m water depth and demonstrate a capability to deploy and maintain ground truth on UXO surrogates over a period required to execute tests of multiple systems. In addition to the depths specified, a football-field sized test area able to accommodate seeding with up to 200 UXO and clutter items was requested. Systems fielded may include sonars, magnetometers, active ElectroMagnetic (EM) sensors, and Electro-Optic (EO) sensors deployed on seafloor platforms (e.g., autonomous crawlers, towed sleds), swimming Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV), surface craft and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). The initial focus was on a clean sand site with any clutter mapped if present. Here, a strategy to set up a suitable nearshore test bed off Shell Island, FL with untethered targets is described and shown to be feasible for potential sensor systems.