AUTEC

The United States Navy's Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) is a laboratory that performs integrated three-dimensional hydrospace/aerospace trajectory measurements covering the entire spectrum of undersea simulated warfare — calibration, classifications, detection, and . Its mission is to assist in establishing and maintaining naval ability of the United States through testing, evaluation, and underwater research.

The sophisticated facility includes three test ranges — the Weapons Range, the Acoustic Range, and the FORACS Range — all located in the Tongue of the ocean (TOTO), a deep-ocean basin approximately 100 nautical miles (190 km) long by 15 nautical miles (28 km) wide, with depths as great as 6,000 feet (1,800 m). The main AUTEC support base and downrange tracking stations are on Andros Island in the Bahamas, just west of Nassau and about 180 nautical miles (333 km) southeast of West Palm Beach, Florida.

The deep water Weapons Range lies roughly parallel to the east coast of Andros Island. It is the largest and most versatile of the AUTEC ranges, and it is capable of tracking up to 63 in-water objects simultaneously. The range is supported by the Main Base (Site 1) and various smaller sites located to the south along the east coast of Andros Island. AN/WQC-2A Sonar Communications Sets and Bi-Directional Communications Nodes provide underwater voice communications for mobile target and emergency command signal coverage, while HF, UHF, and VHF radio communications are available over the entire range.

In-air tracking is provided by radars and various other in-air tracking systems such as LATR, the Hyperbolic In-Air Tracking System (HITS), and Differential GPS (DGPS). These in-air systems cover the AUTEC Weapons Range up to a distance of 500 nautical miles (930 km) from Site 1 and a height of 70,000 feet (21,000 m). Surveillance radars operate to support air and surface safety.

...
Wikipedia