Airborne Radio Modernization

Legacy hardware standards are not well suited to small, modular units for applications such as airborne manned and unmanned aerial platforms where size, weight and power, and cost (SWaP-C) constraints severely limit the amount of RF and signal processing to an impractical level. CMOSS (C4ISR/EW Modular Open Suite of Standards) and SOSA (Sensor Open System Architecture), along with other standards such as HOST (Hardware Open Systems Technologies) and FACE (Future Airborne Capability Environment) are emerging standards that address modern implementation requirements such as SWaP-C-constrained airborne sensors and avionics. SOSA group’s open hardware, data transport and modular software standards provide a group of standards towards "small form-factor" modular solutions optimized for small, high- performance sensor and communications units suitable for airborne platforms. Our previous efforts have generated designs and prototypes for both a Software Defined Radio (SDR) Transceiver, as well as a full radio system solution prototype based around a 4-slot VNX+ backplane. Proposed effort would focus on test and maturation of this complete radio solution to position and prepare it for a near future transition to USAF use. This effort would start with manufacturing of a copy of our VNX+ based full system solution, including our own Transceiver, a Single Board Computer, a Chassis Manager, and a Power supply that is hosted on a 4-slot VNX+ backplane and enclosed in a complete Chassis enclosure. We intend to put this additional copy of our full system solution through rigorous environmental testing to prepare it for future flight testing and transition. Results of these tests will be used to improve on our chassis design and prototype an improved version with the environmental hardening and further enhancements. In parallel, we intend to enhance and mature our Software Defined Radio (SDR) plug-in card that forms the basis of our radio system to better serve future Electronic Warfare and Tactical Communication use cases.