Analysis of At-Sea Performance Prediction Systems.

Abstract : This report analyzes the SIMAS and FLIT acoustic performance systems, under development at the Naval Underwater Systems Center, Newport, Rhode Island, focusing on the degree of commonality of conceptual approach and compatibility of computed results. Where an operational basis for comparison is required, reference is to the ICAPS system currently installed aboard the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) and to the Navy Tactical Data System (NTDS). It is concluded that the constraints imposed by existing on-board computer environments and associated administrative procedures preclude the attainment of an at-sea SIMAS capability within a reasonably short timeframe, except where extra Q-20 computers are available outside the NTDS system, and that external design constraints imposed on the FLIT developers have precluded the incorporation of compatible transmission loss physics into this model. (Author)