Leveraging Machine Learning for Advanced Passive Sonar Tracking - SBIR Topic DON26BZ01-NV025
Disclaimer:
This topic was temporarily posted by the Department of War SBIR Program on March 2nd 2026 and removed the following day.
We believe this topic is planned to be released once the SBIR program is reauthorized; however, this topic may ultimately be modified or withdrawn.
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Funding Amount:
Est. $240,000
Deadline to Apply:
Est. April 29th, 2026.
Objective:
Develop advanced automation to detect, locate, classify, and correlate contacts across multiple sonar sensors and multiple display surfaces.
Description:
Passive sonar systems employ a standardized signal processing pipeline to track, classify, and localize underwater contacts. This automated process, often referred to as "automation," begins after front-end processing generates visual displays for sonar operator analysis and automated processing. Existing algorithms that track energy signatures on these displays typically include Kalman filters, probabilistic multi-hypothesis trackers, and particle filters. However, these traditional tracking methods, as implemented in current operational systems, often fail to fully leverage the potential of modern machine learning techniques. This SBIR topic seeks to incorporate cutting-edge machine learning technologies into passive sonar processing to significantly improve tracking, classification, fusion, and localization of current anti-submarine warfare passive sonar systems. The specific threshold and goals for performance improvement are as indicated in the following table.
Targeted Improvement
Metric
Threshold
Objective
TrackingIncrease Hold Time Ratio10%
20%
TrackingReduce Time to Detect10&
20%
ClassificationIncrease Probability of Correct Classification10%
15%
ClassificationReduce Probability of False Alerts10%
15%
Track FusionIncrease Probability of Correct Association15%
20%
LocalizationReduce Area of Uncertainty15%
20%
Work produced in Phase II may become classified. Note: The prospective contractor(s) must be U.S. owned and operated with no foreign influence as defined by 32 U.S.C. § 2004.20 et seq., National Industrial Security Program Executive Agent and Operating Manual, unless acceptable mitigating procedures can and have been implemented and approved by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) formerly Defense Security Service (DSS). The selected contractor must be able to acquire and maintain a secret level facility and Personnel Security Clearances. This will allow contractor personnel to perform on advanced phases of this project as set forth by DCSA and ONR in order to gain access to classified information pertaining to the national defense of the United States and its allies; this will be an inherent requirement. The selected company will be required to safeguard classified material during the advanced phases of this contract IAW the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM), which can be found at Title 32, Part 2004.20 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
Who will win?
If you can achieve the objective above better than any other company on the market, you have a very high-likelihood of success and should apply.
Who is eligible to apply?
Any company that meets the following criteria:
For-profit company
U.S.-owned and controlled.
500 or fewer employees (including affiliates)
How Can BW&CO Help?
1) End-to-end support including, strategy, writing of the full proposal, and administrative & compliance support.
2) Proposal strategy and review.
3) Administrative & compliance support.
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