Software Defined Radio for Next-Generation Interceptor

Building upon the successful results of the Phase I feasibility study, in this Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project EMAG Technologies Inc. proposes to develop a miniaturized, wafer-scale, RF front end technology capable of digital beamforming and optimal SWaP performance. The integrated RF front end will be compatible with any software defined radio architecture for the multiple kill vehicle (MKV) and future agile kill vehicle (AKV) interceptor communication systems. The very high level of integration demanded by the MDA interceptor links requires the miniaturization of every aspect of the RF circuitry, including the RF distribution network, the RF integrated circuits and the interconnects. A novel, digital beamforming architecture is proposed that is scalable to higher frequency bands above the currently targeted 22GHz band and provides practical packaging and thermal management solutions as well as a significantly improved signal-to-noise ratio performance.