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Originally Posted by Sea Demon
In any platform, does it make any difference if I stream the towed array out just half-way? And I mean in sensor detection capabilities. Or do I need to stream it all the way out for maximum effectiveness?
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Varying the length of your tail can be very useful. It allows you to fine tune your sonar performance for the environment, so that you can always keep your towed array at it's best depth. That can have a big impact on your detection ranges, or even your ability to detect someone at all!
For example, suppose you are in a surface duct, you want your tail to be somewhere in the middle of the duct, below the sea surface noise. One way to control your towed array's depth is to speed up or slow down. Slower means deeper, but since the tail is very long, you don't want to put it too low and miss the fabulous surface duct. Faster means you might be able to keep it in the duct, but you get more flow noise, compromise your own stealthiness and blind yourself. So you don't want to go too fast. The solution to this problem is to stream or shorten the tail accordingly.
I drive through the ocean, dropping BTs all over the place, figuring out how to make the most of my sonar, and adjusting my tail and speed. It's not an exact science. You don't have to always keep your towed array RIGHT AT a particular depth, but a good guestimate of about where it needs to be, and then getting it in the right ballpark is fine. You'd be surprised how much your sonar performance can improve this way.