Investigation of Fiber Optic RF Links for Airborne ISR Platforms

This proposal describes XTI’s plan for evaluating optical technologies and fielded fiber optic RF links (FORL) in airborne ISR platforms to design new FORL systems capable of meeting RF performance requirements of systems on a next generation airborne ISR aircraft. XTI will evaluate FORL systems using conventional and advanced techniques employing state-of-the-art (SOTA) components. RF performance will be modeled and predicted over broadband and narrowband portions of the 10 MHz to 30 GHz frequency range. Consideration will be given to these configurations’ technical maturity as measured by Technical Readiness Level (TRL), SWAP and cost. XTI will perform a trade study to select the best configuration or configurations to meet a minimum spur-free dynamic range (SFDR) performance of 80 dB in a 1 MHz bandwidth. The final design or designs will be documented in a source control drawing (SCD) and individual component specifications will be drawn. A master test plan (MTP) and test methodology will be prepared to assure adequate exercise of the preliminary design. The testing program will focus on evaluating the demonstration hardware in as close to a “deployed” configuration as possible. Actual construction and demonstration of the preliminary design will be undertaken in a follow-on Phase II program