An apparatus for propagating acoustic energy into a body of water, comprising: a plurality of acoustic sources disposed in an array string in the body of water, wherein each of the plurality of acoustic sources comprises an air gun, and the acoustic energy is propagated into the body of water upon activation of the acoustic sources; and a plurality of gun control modules disposed in the body of water, each of the plurality of gun control modules connected to and controlling a respective one of said air guns; characterised in that said apparatus further comprises: a remote control module disposed in the body of water and coupled to the array of acoustic sources, the remote control module operating as a header for the array string and configured to activate the acoustic sources by generating a firing command for the air guns based on one or more parameters received by the remote control module; and an interface device disposed on a tow vessel towing the plurality of acoustic sources, the interface device coupled with the remote control module and configured to transmit the one or more parameters to the remote control module over a high bandwidth telemetry channel, wherein the one or more parameters relate to one of (i) timing, (ii) coordinates, (iii) position, and (iv) synchronization. a plurality of acoustic sources disposed in an array string in the body of water, wherein each of the plurality of acoustic sources comprises an air gun, and the acoustic energy is propagated into the body of water upon activation of the acoustic sources; and a plurality of gun control modules disposed in the body of water, each of the plurality of gun control modules connected to and controlling a respective one of said air guns; characterised in that said apparatus further comprises: a remote control module disposed in the body of water and coupled to the array of acoustic sources, the remote control module operating as a header for the array string and configured to activate the acoustic sources by generating a firing command for the air guns based on one or more parameters received by the remote control module; and an interface device disposed on a tow vessel towing the plurality of acoustic sources, the interface device coupled with the remote control module and configured to transmit the one or more parameters to the remote control module over a high bandwidth telemetry channel, wherein the one or more parameters relate to one of (i) timing, (ii) coordinates, (iii) position, and (iv) synchronization. a remote control module disposed in the body of water and coupled to the array of acoustic sources, the remote control module operating as a header for the array string and configured to activate the acoustic sources by generating a firing command for the air guns based on one or more parameters received by the remote control module; and an interface device disposed on a tow vessel towing the plurality of acoustic sources, the interface device coupled with the remote control module and configured to transmit the one or more parameters to the remote control module over a high bandwidth telemetry channel, wherein the one or more parameters relate to one of (i) timing, (ii) coordinates, (iii) position, and (iv) synchronization.