MAD about the Strikehawk

"Thomas Schoene" wrote:

:Fred J. McCall wrote:
:
: I thought omni CASS was pretty old technology. Anyone know when it
: was introduced?
:
: The P-3 had them earlier, but surface ships (who did the processing
: for helo-dropped buoys) didn't have gear that would handle it until
: SQR-17 was fielded (mid-70s). Even then, they were viewed as a lot
: more expensive than passive buoys so typically weren't carried. And
: of course nobody wanted to drop straight pingers unless they were
: trying to herd the contact in some direction.
:
: SH-2 predated all that by just a bit. :-)
:
oes it really? The LAMPS I contract was awarded in 1970, and the initial
:batch of 20 SH-2Ds was completed in 1972. This site at least says active
:buoys were part of the kit.

Active buoys, yes. CASS buoys, no. And nobody wanted to drop pure
pingers unless they were trying to herd the submarine away from them.
The SH-2 just didn't carry enough buoys to lay a big active field
(there were typically only a handful (fewer than 5) of pingers on
board), so an active buoy was only useful for final targeting.

:http://members.cts.com/sd/b/bwickes/heloasw2.html

The original receiver equipment for the sonobuoys on board ship (I
don't remember the name offhand) had only a wet paper display, so it
was a bit of a PITA to try to use with active buoys in any case.

--
"Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute."
-- Charles Pinckney