R-DEX SYSTEMS, INC. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: DTRA222-005

Description

Underground facilities provide concealment and protection for an array of activities conducted by US adversaries, including production, storage, and deployment of WMDs.  Communications with these subterranean facilities is a challenge at best. The current solution relies on conventional free-space RF radio links. However, RF propagation underground is not well understood and the variable and the lack of foreknowledge of the subterranean space structure results in these radio networks working sub-optimally underground.  Tunnel junctions and other discontinuities in line-of-sight (LOS) can cause appreciable signal attenuation that reduces range. R-DEX Systems proposes Underground Scattered Ultraviolet Relay for Penetrating Enemy Restricted Areas (USURPER), a revolutionary yet practical LPI/LPD/LPE free space optical (FSO) subterranean communications system using the UV-C band. FSO communication systems can provide much higher bandwidth, require smaller antennas, can be lighter in weight, and require less power when compared to traditional RF communication systems, making FSO technology beneficial in terms of size, weight, and power (SWaP).