The effect of uncertainty in the heading or placement of a sub‐array on passive ranging accuracy

Generalized results are derived for predicting the statistical performance of passive wave‐front curvature ranging. The bias and variance for the range estimates are developed for noncollinear and unequally separated sub‐arrays whose acoustic centers are subjected to heading fluctuations. The generalized bias and variance results are reduced, for certain specific cases, to previously found results in the literature. Using the generalized results, several figures are given to depict the size and variation in bias and variance as a function of the design elements that define those statistical measures.