Survey of existing and emerging technologies for strategic submarine navigation

Current methods of strategic submarine navigation are discussed in terms of available technologies and the unique requirements of the strategic submarine mission. Accuracy, availability, and covertness are critical mission attributes that are currently satisfied through a combination of inertial, sonar, satellite, mapping, and computer technologies. A decade from now, strategic submarine navigation will most likely be implemented quite differently than today due to changing mission requirements, the need for cost containment, and rapid technological advances. In this survey, we examine existing and emerging measurement, mapping, systems, and allied technologies that enable a “better, cheaper, faster” solution to the strategic submarine navigation mission of the future. The theme threading these technologies together is the possibility of deploying a more affordable submarine navigator with attendant reduction in costs over the life cycle of the system