Expendable Ad Hoc Networked Data Link System

Time Domain Corporation (TDC) proposes using an Ultra-wideband (UWB) communication system to provide a reliable multi-kilometer RF link between an aircraft such as a P-3 and sonochute launched unmanned aerial vehicles (SL-UAVs) like the Coyote. The intended UWB receiver uses coherent integration to pull signals from the noise and to reconstruct and decode the information symbols. TDC has demonstrated several long range line of sight (LOS) ground-to-ground links (approximately 15 km) using a high gain directional receive antenna, and shorter range LOS ground-to-UAV links (approximately 1 km) using very small omni-directional antennas and effective isotropic radiated power (E.I.R.P.) of 9.5 dBm = 9 mW. TDC's UWB physical layer supports standard packet-based networking protocols including Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). TDC has demonstrated multi-node TDMA networks for communications applications. For this project, TDC will identify requirements, design a UWB signaling structure, and analyze the link budget and LPI/LPD characteristics associated with the proposed solution. Based on the analyses, TDC will define a prototype system to be built and tested in Phase II. The program will determine feasibility of meeting size, weight, and power consumption requirements with UWB radios that support the network requirements for communications between the P-3 and SL-UAVs.