Virtual Antenna Array Mapping

Vadum will develop and prototype a new beamforming protocol for Distributed Coherent Electronic Warfare (DCEW) that will implement distributed TX and RX beamforming algorithms between a cluster of nodes, such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), and uncooperative receivers. The Vadum approach uses an innovative Master-Slave architecture to achieve time and frequency synchronization at minimum overhead cost. Phase synchronization is achieved using a novel hybrid of experimentally demonstrated techniques employing both open-loop and closed-loop feedback. The hybrid approach enables better beamforming in response to Channel State Information (CSI). The Phase-II effort includes prototyping the DCEW protocol on a cluster of software-defined radios (SDR) and flight testing as a UAV payload to measure beamforming gain under relevant channel conditions (i.e. motion, fading, interference, etc.).