Method for assessing the distance to the underwater object of the curvature of the wave front in the conditions of exposure to correlated noise

The article presents the results of the substantiation of a new method for estimating the distance to any underwater object or physical phenomenon based on the curvature of the wave front in terms of the impact on the measuring sonar system of correlated noise. At the same time, the main task of space-time signal processing is the analysis of the resulting wave field to determine the position of a spatial object, which is represented by a point model of a reflecting (radiating) object, which creates a spherical wave in a homogeneous unlimited medium. Such a model is fundamental for analyzing signals from real sea objects, since in many cases these objects are well described by the model in the form of a certain set of “bright” points. In this case, the curvature of the wave front can be used to determine the distance to the object when it is in the Fresnel zone relative to the receiving antenna array, which allows for independent processing along the time and spatial coordinates.