Electro-Optic Tow Cable

Electro-Optic Tow Cable Construction

• Wire Core Material
• Stranded Tinned Copper
• Material Shape
• Round Wire
• Insulation Material
• PE
• Sheath Material
• PVC

Electro-Optic Tow Cable Application

• Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW): Used to tow ship-mounted passive or active sonar arrays, transmitting faint acoustic signals back in real time via fiber-optic cables, while using the tension in the cable to control the depth and attitude of the towed body underwater.
• Mine Sweeping and Mine Hunting Operations: Connects to surface mine-sweeping devices or mine-hunting sonars, provides power to underwater demolition or detection equipment, and transmits high-resolution imaging sonar data to identify mines.
• Seabed Seismic Surveying: Used to tow marine seismic acquisition streamers up to several kilometers in length, power hundreds of underwater geophones, and transmit massive amounts of geological reflection data in real time back to the research vessel for processing.
• Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs): Serving as the ROV’s umbilical cable (Tether), it delivers high-voltage power to drive underwater manipulators and thrusters, while providing fiber-optic-level bandwidth for control commands and high-definition video transmission.

Electro-Optic Tow Cable Standard

• A216313

Electro-Optic Tow Cable Feature

• Robust Load-Bearing Layer: High-strength alloy steel (such as Nitronic-50) or aramid fiber is used as the reinforcing material. The former provides extremely high tensile strength through double-layer reverse helical winding (a torque-balancing design), preventing the cable from twisting under load. The latter enables high tensile strength while maintaining the cable’s flexibility and ultra-low density (with buoyancy approaching zero).
• Precision Optical Protection: To protect the fragile optical fibers, the core optical unit is typically encased in a thin-walled stainless steel tube and filled with gel. This structure effectively isolates the fibers from external stresses, ensuring stable transmission of sensitive optical data—such as phase and polarization—even in harsh towing environments.
• Superior Watertightness: All gaps inside the cable are filled with water-blocking sealant or water-absorbing, expanding materials, transforming the entire cable into a seamless unit capable of resisting longitudinal seawater infiltration under high-pressure conditions in the deep sea.
• Wide Depth Range: Capable of meeting operational requirements across the entire ocean depth range—from shallow waters to 6,000 meters—and withstanding immense water pressure.