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. <EOS>