WIDE BAND HIGH FIDELITY DRFM (HIFID)

Basic Digital RF Memory (DRFM) theory is well understood, mature and low-risk, having been demonstrated and used in multiple applications over many years. DRFM practice and technology have stagnated over the last several years due to the lack of investment in the technology base and rapid digitization of the weapon systems with which DRFMs must interact. With the current Force Transformation objectives and the move toward NetCentric Warfare and Operations this situation will only be exacerbated. At some point DRFMs will no longer be able to support the increased sensor resolutions and system bandwidths associated with the digital battlefield. The ARL/SPEC Wide Band High Fidelity DRFM (HiFiD) system will arrest this decline in relative performance and provide the Army, the Joint Forces and the DoD as a whole a high performance, flexible, DRFM architecture that evolves with the digital battlefield. Future evolutions of HiFiD derived subsystems may be incorporated into weapons themselves to facilitate System Under Test economies, improved training strategies and reduction of operator data fog on the battlefield. An investment in test range instrumentation could yield multiple paybacks, including system test cost reductions, accelerated development schedules, improved initial and follow-on training, and improved operational system instrumentation and communications