Robust Communications for Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (RC-UCAV)

Robust communication is a reliable, available, mission-aware, and survivable networked-communication links capable of withstanding attempts by enemy to detect, disrupt or intercept communication signals. Small groups of networked Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles (UCAVs), such as Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS), require robust communications to successfully engage in missions such as cooperative target search, acquisition, and tracking, suppression of Enemy Air Defense (SEAD), cooperative attack, persistent Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), Electronic Attack (EA), and other broader range of tactical combat missions. The fundamental component for such cooperative operations is autonomous, mission-driven communication among themselves with high stability and in LPD/LPI/LPE environments. SDRC RC-UCAV solutions efficiently integrate and optimize the following four innovative features: (i) SDRC's high-frequency multimode modem capable of operating at negative signal-to-noise ratio; (ii) steerable, narrow-beam directional antenna with associated adaptive networking protocols; (iii) free-space optics (FSO) in addition to (i) and (ii), yielding hybrid FSO/RF system through the Link Monitoring Controller (LMC) integration; and (iv) tight coupling between communication parameter control and mission execution/planning. During Phase 1, SDRC will conduct a thorough comparative study and simulations between RF and hybrid RF and FSO networks to quantitatively measure UCAV network robustness for Phase 2 consideration.