The Mission Based Side Scan Sonar training short course, is a completely revised version of Black Laser Learning's very successful 2nd ed. Not in the Manual Guide to Side Scan Sonar Image Interpretation in a new mission-based format. This revised Black Laser side scan training reflects hundreds of hours of training for the US Navy and foreign allies, as well as dozens of fire rescue teams. The new training incorporates basic side scan concepts, expanding into more advanced topics driven by technological advancements.

The course is designed for operators, analysts, or project managers who need to understand the operational and technical components of a sonar that affect survey and mapping, without delving into sonar engineering for its own sake. The course covers some basic physics essential for a fundamental understanding, without requiring equations or detailed mathematics. The training focuses on operations and mapping, selecting the correct sonar parameters, understanding how modern sonars process imagery, and how to analyze imagery. The mission based training goes beyond a typical side scan course, describing how to analyze imagery, rather than just showing dozens of marketing images.

It is the most comprehensive short (1 hour 20 minutes) side scan course available. No matter what your mission or knowledge level, this course will improve your side scan capabilities.

The Program starts with the typical side scan sonar waterfall display, moving on to a detailed discussion of the water column and nadir. The program also discusses shadows and data quality. There is a detailed discussion on bottom sediment reflectivity and how bottom conditions influence target reflectivity. The program also explains how computers and software adjust the imagery. After covering these basic principles, the program proceeds to Mapping and Search Operations, discussing how to produce high-quality mosaics and the details of search operations.