Radio Frequency Over Fiber in Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Platforms

In this Phase I effort Pharad will investigate, develop and demonstrate photonic technologies to realize a high performance airborne fiber optic RF distribution (RFD) system for ISR aircraft that will lead to substantial reductions in SWaP (size, weight, and power) requirements. Photonic technology offers the potential for providing new capabilities, and significant performance improvements to a variety of microwave systems. Upgrading to a fiber optic harness for the distribution of RF signals in airborne platforms will offer a number of benefits over coaxial cables, including significantly reduced cabling size, weight and bend radius; low loss over a wide RF bandwidth; and improved signal isolation. During Phase I we will carry out a study of potential approaches for the distribution, routing and switching of RF signals over fiber. Our survey will establish the maturity of the various technologies and their suitability to the airborne RFD system. We will then develop a design for a photonics-based RF distribution system that meets all the performance requirements. Our Phase I Option effort is a Phase II Risk Reduction activity, in which we will carry out a detailed design analysis of our Phase I RFD system architecture that will demonstrate the performance of our solution.