Sensor Independent EW Functionality Interface

The threats countered by Electronic Warfare (EW) systems are continually evolving, necessitating that EW sensor subsystems evolve to keep pace with the threats. To create the best possible EW system, the EW system needs to be designed with sensorsubsystem flexibility in mind. An EW system designed with sensor subsystem flexibility can adapt to existing and new sensor subsystems, creating a combined situational awareness picture using information from all its sensor subsystems.In additional to sensor subsystems under development, several sensor subsystems are currently available for incorporation into surface ship EW systems. The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has developed numerous sensor subsystems to add new EW capabilities,including new High Gain High Sensitivity (HGHS) functionality, Specific Emitter Identification (SEI) functionality, and Advanced Multi-Function Radio Frequency (AMRF) common phased array sensor functionality. EW systems should also be able to takeadvantage of sensor subsystems already fielded, like the existing SLQ-32 Electronic Support Enhancements (ESE) sensor subsystem, the Light-Airborne Multipurpose System (LAMPS) helicopter sensor subsystem, and other commercially available sensor subsystems.To this end, PMS473 commissioned a study,