MIMO Capability for C2ISR aircrafts using existing antenna mounts

ABSTRACT: Silvus Technologies Inc. proposes the use of its StreamCaster Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) radios as a Low-Power-Cost-Weight, Rapidly-Installable, Medium-Range, Interplane Communications Capability (LIMRICC) between US Air Force Command Control Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C2ISR) wide body air crafts. For higher likelihood of transition our approach uses antennas that can be mounted on the footprint of existing antennas on wide body C2ISR platforms. BENEFIT: High speed air to air communications may not yet be an everyday requirement, but there are some key area where this capability could be utilized to great public benefit. In addition to the application directly anticipated by this SBIR topic, the military is increasingly relying upon unmanned airborne platforms. This could lead to a dramatic increase in the density of aerial platforms within a given area. It may become necessary to utilize air to air communications as a mechanism for aircraft to notify each other of their flight plans and avoid airspace contention. This might be deemed especially important if the possibility of satcom loss is deemed a threat. Additionally, a mesh of unmanned systems may soon be a viable mechanism of providing cell phone like coverage to large areas as a rapidly deployed capability. The UAS platforms would provide connections to troops without a footprint below them just as a cell tower does. The UAS platforms would then backhaul the data by relying air to air through multiple UAS until the ground telecom hub is reached. The Silvus Streamcaster radio platform is so flexible that many different application scenarios could be supported. The proposed SBIR effort involves system engineering and simulation which would be very useful in pursuing this potential uses. These size of these markets, which have not quite appeared are difficult to predict but it is not hard to imagine that within a few years the DOD may be spending tens of millions annually on this type of capability. The two parallel applications which are non-military would be the possibility of having air to air communication for exchange of safety critical information among civilian aircraft and for a system of UAS which could be rapidly deployed to provide replacement cell phone infrastructure after a disaster destroyed the ground based infrastructure.