ArcticEcho: Ionospheric Sentinel Network

The Arctic is an attractive attack vector because it is the shortest route between major adversaries and the US homeland. Both manned and unmanned launch platforms can attack from the air, the sea, or below the surface. While adversaries have been expanding their Arctic military presence, the US Arctic domain awareness demands upgrades. Over-the-Horizon radars (OTHRs) leverage ionospheric reflections to extend their detection range, making them valuable for wide-area surveillance and early threat detection. Furthermore, they operate without extensive infrastructure making them particularly suitable for the remote ĀArctic regions. Although OTHRÆs have clear operational advantages, the highly dynamic Arctic ionosphere reduces their range accuracy and prevents this technology from operating at its full potential. Ionosondes can mitigate these challenges by providing real-time data on ionospheric conditions to adaptive OTHRs, which can then dynamically respond for improved resiliency and accuracy. Through this DAF effort nou Systems Inc. will design, develop, and deploy a network of Arctic-hardened sensors to characterize the Arctic Ocean. Phase I will include design and prototyping activities followed by staged Arctic deployments planned for Phase II.Ā