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A sonobuoy is a buoy with a sonar attached to it. They are used to extend the sonar capabilities of aircraft, particularly for anti-submarine warfare. An aircraft may deploy many buoys in an area of ocean, and then correlate information transmitted from those buoys to gain coverage of a greater expanse of water, and to help pin-point contacts by cross-referencing data picked up by different buoys.
There are several different kinds of sonobuoys, Active (that either sends out a ping or sets off an explosive to detect sound waves bouncing off a submarine), Passive (which listen for the sounds of a submarine or for ping from another sonobuoy bouncing off a submarine), Bathythermograph (which determine the temperature and gradient of the water), and Communications (for sending messages to submarines).
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