Delivering tomorrow’s solutions, today. Advancing technology for our warfighters and the future of RF.

In a recent AOC podcast, Technical Director, Doug Thornton, discussed the importance of technology advancements and how research and development play a key role in creating opportunities for mission impact. As technology is ever-changing and the need to keep our warfighters safe is paramount, we dive into how we are delivering tomorrow’s solutions, today and the future of RF.

Advancing technology for our warfighters.

At Battelle, we start with foundational sciences such as physics, biology, material science, and then we build into solutions. One example is our cyber division. When we think of cyber, we start with the physics of the device itself and then build from there. With the interaction of the physical layer and the cyber components of the system, this is where we start to get into the field of cyber electromagnetic activities. We have mathematicians, physicists, statistics, electrical engineers, computer engineers, all working together to solve these problems under one umbrella. How we approach these challenging problems, for example, is being able to bring in a mathematician and a physicist to help solve a cyber or an electromagnet problem, where in most other areas, those are discrete silos.

So what?

One of the programs we’ve been collaborating on is an ultrawide bandwidth software defined aperture capability that we call RavenStar. This software combines the concept of a software-defined radio with a steerable array that allows flexibility in both frequency and space to execute your mission efficiently. So, in our multidisciplinary approach to the cyber problem, we've found that the connection to the physical spectrum is often the weak link in successfully protecting yourself or deploying your toolsets. We focused on this area and found that we can make a connection to RF spectrum that provides the needs of gain of power, but also spatial control of what you're talking to - thus better enabling our cyber missions.

Unlocking the future of RF multifunction and its importance for challenges on the horizon.

Right now, the utilization of spectrum is dramatically increasing for commercial fields, but also defense-related fields. People need more bandwidth to communicate more information across longer distances, and we need to do a better job of how we dynamically manage that.

For instance, single-function devices of the past must be specifically built to operate with a waveform and at a particular frequency. However, our next generation of warfighters need to be able to dynamically operate in that spectrum so they can: avoid threats, interact with objects that they may not know at the time that system is designed, what those objects are going to be doing and where they going to be operating in that spectrum. The Department of Defense’s move to modular open systems architecture philosophies, and in particular the C4ISR/EW Modular Open Suite of Standards (CMOSS), not only creates greater operational efficiency, but they enable new technological solutions to RF multi-function. Today, these standards provide for commonality in a chassis, but they ultimately craft a vision where digital radio heads replace costly and heavy coaxial cables with fiber optics by placing a portion of the radio function at the antenna. With agile radio heads tied into a compute backplane, there becomes a digital connection to physical spectrum, which will unlock industry creativity and rapidly increase speed to solution for new capabilities and responses to new threats.

If you want to learn more about technology advancements or to discuss your toughest RF challenges of today and tomorrow, go to battelle.org/connect or email [email protected] and we will connect you with an expert.