Magnetic Sensors

Applications - NSWC Panama City has demonstrated the capability to deploy magnetic sensors towed behind aircraft and surface platforms. One of our first applications was to clear ordnance from the Suez Canal. Under the Magnetic and Acoustic Detection of Mines (MADOM) Advanced Technology Demonstration, NSWC Panama City successfully deployed a superconducting gradiometer to detect totally buried ferrous mines and demonstrated the effectiveness of acoustic and magnetic sensor fusion. Subsequently the gradiometer utilized in MADOM was the premiere sensor in an unscripted survey to locate unexploded ordnance in the Technology Demonstration of the Mobile Underwater Debris Survey System (MUDSS). We have used magnetic sensors for efforts as diverse as the characterization of weapon and platform magnetic signatures, environmental remediation, special warfare, and numerous applications for state and federal agencies such as forensics work and drug interdiction. In addition to these efforts to detect, locate, and characterize magnetic targets, we have developed approaches for underwater electromagnetic communication and vehicle navigation. Recent developments have been pursued to deploy magnetic sensors onboard unmanned underwater swimming and crawling vehicles and to demonstrate capabilities in high-speed operations.