Description

The AN/BQQ-9 Towed Array Signal Processing Equipment (TASPE) is a thin-line towed array and signal-processing system developed for the U.S. Navy’s Trident submarines. Designed to enhance underwater detection capabilities, it provides increased detection ranges along with improved tracking and classification of underwater targets.

TASPE consists of a sophisticated computer complex that offers advanced signal processing, display, and management of passive acoustic data. It is capable of processing inputs from a variety of sonar sensors.

Development

The AN/BQQ-9 was developed to improve the sonar capabilities of the U.S. Navy’s Trident submarines. Its development stemmed from the earlier AN/BQQ-8 Improved Sonar Processing Equipment (ISPE), which was initially intended for Poseidon-class submarines.

In 1977, Rockwell’s Autonetics division was awarded the ISPE contract. The ISPE program was a significant software development and integration effort, designed to utilize U.S. Navy standard hardware wherever feasible.

The ISPE development continued until 1980. At that point, the Navy decided to scale back the program to focus on creating a single sonar signal processing suite. This new suite was specifically designed to process data from the Navy’s new long, thin-line towed array, the AN/BQR-15 SPALT 9080. The result was the AN/BQQ-9 TASPE.

In August 1982, the AN/BQQ-9 TASPE went to sea alongside the SPALT 9080 array for testing. These sea trials concluded with a successful Technical and Operational Evaluation in 1983.

The first operational installation of the AN/BQQ-9 was on the USS Georgia (SSBN-729) in 1984. Following this, the first ten Trident submarines were equipped with both the AN/BQQ-9 TASPE and the SPALT 9080 arrays.

Contractor

• Autonetics Marine Systems Division, Rockwell International Corp, Anaheim, CA, USA.

Further reading

• Ohio-Class (SSBN-726) Ballistic Missile Submarines
• Ohio-Class (SSBN-726) Submarine Technical Specification
• AN/BQR-15 Towed Array Sonar

Bibliography

• Polmar, N. (2013). The Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet. United Kingdom: Naval Institute.
• Rindskopf, M. H. (1994). Steel Boats, Iron Men: History of the U.S. Submarine Force. United States: Turner Publishing Company.