SwRI developing advanced electronic warfare system for U.S. Air Force

Ultra-wideband receiver achieves rapid signal detection, increased bandwidth

2023-07-25

(Press-News.org) SAN ANTONIO — July 25, 2023 —The U.S. Air Force awarded Southwest Research Institute a $4.8 million contract to further develop an adaptable, “continuously staring,” next-generation electronic warfare system capable of detecting advanced enemy radar signals. Using cutting-edge algorithms in a congested signal test environment, the system demonstrated more than 99% probability of intercepting signals with no false detections in a USAF verified simulated environment, a software model loaded with enemy radar.

“Eliminating false detections is crucial, as they force the pilot and plane to divert scarce resources to defeat an ‘enemy’ that’s not there,” said SwRI’s Jarrett Holcomb, who is part of the technology development team. “As we strive for the fastest detection rate possible, our algorithms provide unmatched accuracy.”

Staring, rather than scanning, allows more rapid detection of adversarial pulses, enabling faster response and greater protection for U.S. military aircraft. The cost-efficient, digital ultra-wideband receiver (UWR) technology provides near-instant detection of signals across a wider swath of the electromagnetic spectrum, expanding capabilities to jam enemy radar. The UWR system achieves greater instantaneous bandwidth coverage over the entire electromagnetic warfare frequency range, using a single processing card, not a stack of cards required by many systems.

“It is important that the U.S. stays ahead of the advanced and emerging radars of potential combatants, while maintaining the ability to operate in ever-congested radio-frequency environments that contain a wide range of signals, from military radars to cell phones, TV and radio signals,” said SwRI’s Finley Hicks, who is leading the UWR development team. “SwRI’s powerful UWR technology is a long-term defense and intelligence solution, capable of outperforming existing and future enemy radar systems, even as they increase bandwidth, agility and adaptability.”

The UWR system follows the Sensor Open System Architecture (SOSA™) Technical Standard, which means it can easily integrate into legacy and newly developed Open Architecture Weapon systems. Technology aligned to SOSA allows quick and efficient system component updates to support new capabilities without having to replace or redesign the entire system.

“This open-system-based receiver will offer the military an ultra-wideband capability that can be integrated into existing defense systems to improve situational awareness and mission effectiveness,” said Hicks.

Compared to competing systems, the UWR technology improves on size, weight, power and cost (SWaP-C) requirements, delivering an efficient design with fewer components, lower maintenance expenses and a smaller logistical footprint for deployed units.

Southwest Research Institute develops advanced military and defense electronic warfare systems for air and ground applications. For more information, visit https://www.swri.org/industry/electronics-integration-cyber-technology/advanced-electronic-warfare-solutions.

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Food allergy in infancy linked to childhood asthma and reduced lung function

2023-07-25

Having a food allergy as a baby is linked to asthma and reduced lung function later in childhood, according to a world first study. The research, led by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and published in the Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, found that early life food allergy was associated with an increased risk of both asthma and reduced lung growth at six years of age. Murdoch Children’s Associate Professor Rachel Peters said this was the first study to examine the relationship between challenge-confirmed food allergy in infancy and asthma and poorer lung health ...

New study sheds light on awareness and preferences for bioplastics in Japan

2023-07-25

Non-biodegradable plastics are major contributors to land and marine pollution, destroying habitats and causing harm to both flora and fauna. Hence, the switch to bioplastics is imperative to ensure sustainability. The success of environmental initiatives aimed at increasing bioplastic adoption critically hinges on understanding consumer behavior. However, consumer preferences and perceptions around bioplastics, particularly in Japan and other Asian countries, are not well understood. A recent study published online on July 10, 2023 in the Journal of Cleaner Production attempted to find answers to questions surrounding Japanese consumers’ preferences ...

A nano switchable polar column system that allows high-density data storage

2023-07-25

In today’s world of digital information, an enormous amount of data is exchanged and stored on a daily basis. In the 1980s, IBM unveiled the first hard drive—which was the size of a refrigerator—that could store 1 GB of data, but now we have memory devices that have a thousand-fold greater data-storage capacity and can easily fit in the palm of our hand. If the current pace of increase in digital information is any indication, we require yet newer data recording systems that are lighter, have low environmental impact, and, most importantly, have higher data storage density. Recently, a new class of materials called axially ...

New image reveals secrets of planet birth

2023-07-25

A spectacular new image released today by the European Southern Observatory gives us clues about how planets as massive as Jupiter could form. Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), researchers have detected large dusty clumps, close to a young star, that could collapse to create giant planets. “This discovery is truly captivating as it marks the very first detection of clumps around a young star that have the potential to give rise to giant planets,” says Alice Zurlo, a researcher at the Universidad Diego Portales, Chile, involved ...

UBC researchers recover vital resources from wastewater sludge

2023-07-25

If you were ever to see sewage sludge up close, you might be hard-pressed to find any redeemable value; however, researchers at UBC’s Bioreactor Technology Group see it another way. Using a combination of heat, water and phase separation, UBC researchers have developed a cost-effective method to concentrate phosphorous—which can be efficiently recovered by extraction—from wastewater sludge. “Phosphorous is a non-renewable, but essential, element for life and has many industrial uses,” explains Huan Liu, a doctoral student with UBCO’s School of Engineering and lead author of a new study investigating ...

A new vision for US health care

2023-07-25

It’s not exactly what he’s best known for, but Alexander Hamilton helped develop the first national, compulsory health insurance policy in the world: a 1798 taxpayer-financed plan Congress approved to cover sick and disabled seamen. “The interests of humanity are concerned in it,” Hamilton wrote. And they still are, as MIT Professor Amy Finkelstein notes in a new book. The U.S. has repeatedly tried to provide medical care for those who need it and cannot afford it. These efforts may have started with Hamilton, but ...

Inflammation discovery could slow aging, prevent age-related diseases

2023-07-25

University of Virginia School of Medicine researchers have discovered a key driver of chronic inflammation that accelerates aging. That finding could let us slow the clock to live longer, healthier lives, and may allow us to prevent age-related conditions such as deadly heart disease and devastating brain disorders that rob us of our faculties. So what drives this harmful inflammation? The answer is improper calcium signaling in the mitochondria of certain immune cells. Mitochondria are the power generators in all cells, ...

UK and Europe join forces for construction of largest ever European Solar Telescope

2023-07-25

**Images available** Nine European countries, including the UK, have today (25 July 2023) joined forces to commit to the construction of the European Solar Telescope (EST) The EST will be the biggest solar telescope ever constructed in Europe and aims to provide unparalleled new insights into the phenomena of space weather The University of Sheffield will lead a consortium of UK universities that will help to develop designs for the construction of the large-aperture solar telescope The first light of the EST is ...

PSMA PET imaging improves accuracy of predicting prostate cancer recurrence

2023-07-25

A molecular imaging tool developed by researchers at the University of California’s two nationally ranked medical centers, UCLA and UCSF, helps improve the accuracy of predicting the risk of cancer recurrence in patients with intermediate to high-risk prostate cancer who undergo surgery. The tool, known as prostate-specific membrane antigen PET imaging, or PSMA PET, provides prognostic information before treatment begins that can predict if the patient will have a high risk for the cancer returning after surgery. “In patients ...

All US racial and ethnic minority groups are underrepresented in Alzheimer’s neuroimaging research, study shows

2023-07-25

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which affects an estimated 6.5 million adults in the United States, hits some groups harder than others. Compared to non-Hispanic whites, Hispanic Americans are 1.5 times as likely to develop AD, and African Americans are twice as likely. But scientists know little about the reasons behind these disparities, because the vast majority of AD research has been done with non-Hispanic white people. A new study that reviewed 11,871 research articles on AD brain imaging, led by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, has now revealed the extent of ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

CMD-OPT model enables the discovery of a potent and selective RIPK2 inhibitor as preclinical candidate for the treatment of acute liver injury

Melatonin receptor 1a alleviates sleep fragmentation-aggravated testicular injury in T2DM by suppression of TAB1/TAK1 complex through FGFR1

Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals Shen-Bai-Jie-Du decoction retards colorectal tumorigenesis by regulating the TMEM131–TNF signaling pathway-mediated differentiation of immunosuppressive dendritic ce