Physical Optics Corporation — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: N192-091

Description

To address the Navy need for a frequency agile line-of-sight (LOS) low probability of detection/intercept (LPD/LPI) data networking communication capability, suitable for airborne platforms utilizing the millimeter wave spectrum and taking advantage of the physical signal propagation characteristics in that band, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a new Advanced Frequency Agile Low-Probability-Of-Detection/Intercept Communication Network (FALCO). The FALCO system consists of three key modules 1) high-gain; wideband; conformal; active electronically scanned array (AESA), 2)RF front-end and digital backend electronics, utilizing a novel RF design with state-of-the-art commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components, which offers a 27 GHz bandwidth and 12 GHz instantaneous bandwidth. Specifically, the innovative combination of the antenna design, digital beamforming, and backend electronics will offer resilient waveform agility and cognitive link management 3) innovative housing. Phase I will focus on the conceptual design of the approach. The design will be validated through modeling, simulation, and experiments to assess technical feasibility and characterize performance. Phase I will include prototype plans to be developed under Phase II. POC will make a limited-scale benchtop prototype to show proof-of-concept, reaching technology readiness level (TRL)-3. In Phase II, we will leverage the Phase I efforts to develop a field-ready FALCO prototype at TRL-5/-6.