Demonstration of an Intelligence Electronic Warfare Common Processor

Due to factors such as the increasing performance demands placed on IEW systems operating in more sophisticated threat environments, as well as the relatively small acquisitions of IEW systems, the costs of production and operations and support tend to become very substantial in an era of shrinking budgets. However, by suitably exploiting their totally digital nature, many, if not most, of the overlapping digital processing functions presently being performed in different ESM/ECM systems using different digital technology and specialized, custom hardware can be effectively multiplexed within a common digital processor. Virtual digital architectures which can successfully be used to perform the required functions of signal analysis, data processing, display generations, jamming control, and waveform synthesis are evaluated to determine the overlapping commonalities in IEW function. The feasibility of using mostly commercial-off-the-shelf hardware and standardized software packages, with relatively few specialized cards, is explored in considerable depth since the minimization of custom hardware and software requirements is the key to substantially reducing both acquisition and logistics support costs, thereby establishing both the technical and economic feasibility of the concept.