Small Unmanned Aircraft System Direction Finding

The overarching objective of this sequential Phase II SBIR is to ruggedize, enhance and transition small form-factor HF, VHF and UHF Direction Finding (DF) systems to confirmed customers, providing them with a reliable and accurate DF capability, range to target, geolocation, and user-friendly interfaces. The primary target platform is the Beechcraft King Air 200/350 and its military variants. The key differentiators of the technology, and systems that leverage it, are: (1) the ability to DF HF Near Vertical Incidence Skywave (NVIS) emissions from small manned and unmanned aircraft; (2) wide instantaneous bandwidth, up to 3 decades of frequency from a single aperture (1 to 10 MHz, 10 to 100 MHz, 100 to 1000 MHz); and, (3) measurement of the complete, 3D, fully polarimetric, electromagnetic (EM) domain parameter set for each incoming waveform, enabling EM-fingerprinting of emitters using complex modulation schemes.The primary deliverable from this effort are a complete system ready for installation on the Beechcraft King Air (or similar aircraft), including: antennas, connectors, cables, digitizing receiver, processing station and interfaces to mission planning, situational awareness, and software defined radio packages.