Expendable Active RF Technology for Helicopters (EARTH)

Systems & Processes Engineering Corporation (SPEC) is proposing a fast moving Phase II Expendable Active RF Technologies for Helicopters (EARTH) program to deliver a fully functional 1”x2”x8” active expendable RF countermeasures prototype flight unit, which is form/fit compatible with the AN/ALE-47 dispenser. The proposed countermeasures flight unit (microUAV) expendables are configured with multifunctional EW capabilities and perform as active decoys, false targets, or jammers to defeat modern threats. SPEC’s proposed active expendable flight units implement integrated, substrate level, heterogeneous technologies, advanced antenna topologies, and ultra-dense packaging to achieve an extraordinary combination of low SWaP, system effectiveness and aerodynamic specifications, including performance in high acceleration ejection and flight through rotor wash environments. This Phase II EARTH design advances SPEC’s field proven (TRL 9) ADEP embedded adaptive countermeasures technology to yield an ensemble of field programmable coherent and non-coherent dense spectrum EW techniques for sophisticated deception and jamming. The proposed EARTH architecture and IP blocks will be configured for multi-mission adaptability and ease of integration with RWRs and onboard EW management suites. The impact of this program is far reaching and includes the development of inexpensive, mass producible microEW technologies for universal airframe protection and for multi-mission EW payloads for small UAVs.