The Multi-static Lively Coherent Enhancements (MAC-E) is an lively sonar system composed of supply and receiver sonobuoys utilized by the P-8 throughout ASW missions.
The Naval Air Take a look at and Analysis Squadron (VX-1) introduced the completion of the operational testing for the Multi-Static Lively Coherent-Enhancements (MAC-E) system on two P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol plane at Joint Base-Pearl Harbour Hickam (JBPHH). The check marketing campaign was performed between Jul. 27 and Jul. 29, 2025, with a complete of 4 sorties.
The U.S. Pacific Fleet and the U.S. Navy revealed images of the plane whereas at JBPHH, though they didn’t particularly determine the system examined because the MAC-E. As an alternative, the captions generically mentioned the 2 P-8As from VX-1 have been at JBPHH “to check new anti-submarine warfare (ASW) methods earlier than these methods are fielded within the fleet.”
As The Aviationist had reported in June, in context of the primary of the seven P-8As finishing the Increment 3 Block 2 (I3B2) upgrades, the MACE-E lively and passive sonobuoy sign processing system was among the many ones for which RTX BBN Applied sciences Inc. acquired a $12.8 million contract from NAVAIR (Naval Air Programs Command) on Jun. 18, 2025.
Different methods to be upgraded and put in on the P-8As as a part of that contract embody the Floor Replay System (GRS), a number of enter a number of output (MIMO) capabilities of the brand new AN/SSQ-101C and the AN/SSQ-125B sonobuoys, undersea benefit (USA) receiver sonobuoy array modifications, new operator machine interface designs, and high-duty-cycle capabilities.
The Navy has described the P-8A because the Navy’s “premier multi-mission plane and cornerstone of the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Drive (MPRF).” The I3B2 upgrades carry the platform to the fullest extent of its envisaged functionality as a full-spectrum ISR, sensing, submarine-hunting and surface-strike plane, preserving its relevance by way of the 2030s.
Limitations of the unique MAC
The Multi-Static Lively Coherent (MAC) and the improved MAC-E (the place the E stands Enhancements) course of knowledge gathered by the Navy’s present stock of sonobuoys (or “distant processors”), designated AN/SSQ-36, AN/SSQ-53, AN/SSQ-62, AN/SSQ-101, and AN/SSQ-125. The Navy built-in the sooner MAC Part 1 in a labeled Last Operational Testing & Analysis (FOT&E) marketing campaign from March 2014 to February 2015, famous in a DOT&E (Director, Operational Take a look at and Analysis) report.
As per the DOT&E, the lively sonar MAC system has a “supply” and a “receiver” sonobuoy linked to an “acoustic processing and plane mission laptop software program suite.” Additionally employed by the Navy’s P-3Cs for ASW “in a wide range of ocean circumstances,” MAC changed the older Improved Prolonged Echo Ranging (IEER) system, which used “non-coherent sources to provide loud sounds that mirror off submarine targets.”
“MAC employs new coherent supply buoys that allow a number of pings, optimized waveforms, and numerous ping durations, none of which the legacy IEER system offered,” defined the DOT&E report on FY15 Navy Packages. “The Navy is planning a collection of enhancements to the MAC software program and enhancements to the MAC buoys.”
The system is especially specialised in “large-area lively acoustic searches for risk submarines.” The DOT&E report additional mentioned that the labeled and extra expansive FOT&E outcomes point out that the MAC Part 1 gives P-8A plane with an “early wide-area” ASW search functionality in “some operational environments and in choose eventualities, however it doesn’t meet the MAC Part I program’s necessities in different environments or eventualities.” It have to be famous as soon as once more that this data dates again ten years.
Detailing the explanation for the limitation, the report says the system fell wanting “the potential wanted to guard high-value items.” Though the P-8A’s greater velocity and “revised buoy discipline set up techniques lowered the search discipline buoy set up time,” the MAC detection efficiency was deemed much like the P-3C’s efficiency, and unbiased of the plane platform.
The MAC’s detection efficacy can be strongly decided by “traits of the ocean setting and the techniques employed by the goal to evade detection.” This might discuss with how the sonars and sonobuoys function in a different way in temperate and chilly waters within the north Atlantic and Arctic oceans in comparison with the warmer, tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific.
Whereas with the ability to detect “evasive undersea targets,” acoustic operators are additionally anticipated to differentiate between submarine and non-submarine sonar litter that is perhaps mistaken as targets. Right here, the MAC’s skill to distinguish goal from non-target litter “varies with environmental circumstances,” resulting in time being spent on “assessing and prosecuting false targets.”
“Incomplete environmental databases” utilized by the ASPECT (Lively System Efficiency Estimate Laptop Device) additionally affected its efficiency, with the Navy’s Oceanographic Workplace then “updating these environmental databases, focusing first on ahead working areas.”
MAC-E
NAVAIR mentioned MAC-E (Multi-Static Lively Coherent – Enhancements) capabilities “will embody elevated search price, litter discount, and Operator-Machine Interface enhancements.” On Aug. 15, 2024, NAVAIR contracted Maritime Surveillance Associates to change the software program suite of the World Reconstruction Evaluation and Measurement System (GRAMS) post-flight evaluation software to help the general MAC-E improvement and testing.
The modified GRAMS and the P-8A Acoustic Operational Flight Program (AOFP) would operate because the MAC-E Put up-Flight Evaluation (PFA) suite to evaluate knowledge after checks. The contract additionally required prototyping Synthetic Intelligence/Machine Studying (AI/ML) within the GRAMS software program modification. GRAMS, licensed by the Workplace of Naval Intelligence (ONI), is used to find out Sound Strain Degree (SPL) of alerts radiated by risk of submarines, floor ships, and weapons.
The above data due to this fact provides us an concept of the capabilities of MAC-E and the testing parameters VX-1 should have targeted on within the current JBPHH deployment. The press releases and the captions described the VX-1’s principal mission being to “check and consider airborne anti-submarine warfare, maritime anti-surface warfare, and airborne command and management platforms in addition to help methods, gear and supplies in an operational setting.”
Different P-8A upgrades and improved capabilities
The Aviationist reported in August 2024 a few new Multi-Mission Pod (MMP) developed by Boeing that was noticed on a Navy P-8A Poseidon. Previous to that, in June 2024 we additionally reported about BAE Programs receiving a $95 million contract to produce a complicated counter-measures and digital warfare pod to detect and counter inbound radio-frequency threats to guard the P-8A.
Earlier this month, Boeing acquired a $61 million award for added manufacturing of Excessive Altitude Anti-Submarine Warfare Weapon Functionality (HAAWC) kits for Mark 54 torpedoes. The U.S. Navy at the moment operates 124 P-8A Poseidons, and plans to improve its total deliberate fleet of 135 P-8As.
Australia’s 14 Poseidons are additionally slated to obtain I3B2 upgrades. Apart from the U.S. and Australia, the P-8A is flown by Germany, U.Okay., India, South Korea, Norway, New Zealand and, in future, Canada. A complete of 185 P-8s are flying as we speak, collectively counting over 660,000 flight hours.
