Automated Characterization of Communications, Electronic Attack, Radar, and Navigation Systems

Delcross Technologies proposes to develop an automated measurement system (AMS) that will characterize the spectral profile of transmitters and receivers while minimizing manual labor. Modern RF systems can utilize thousands of channels, which makes a manual measurement system impractical for characterizing such devices. The purpose of the AMS is to create a practical process for RF system characterization. A key component of the AMS will be a software interface through which the user controls and coordinates the measurements. Much progress was made during the Phase I contract to develop a prototype AMS. During the Phase II, we will refine and expand the prototype capabilities. Specifically, we will extend the frequency range of the AMS. We will add capability to support digital and pulsed transmitter measurements. Support for receiver susceptibility and bit error rate measurements will be developed. The software interface will continue to evolve as improvements are made to the algorithms that control the measurement equipment and the software is converted to a stand-alone program. Over the course of the next 24 months, our focus will be on developing a practical AMS that NAVAIR can use to characterize the wide variety of RF systems employed on their platforms of interest.