N121-070 TITLE: SIGINT Interfaces and Processing Infrastructure for Submarines

TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Sensors

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PMS-435 Submarine Imaging and Electronic Warfare Program Office -- ACAT III

RESTRICTION ON PERFORMANCE BY FOREIGN CITIZENS (i.e., those holding non-U.S. Passports): This topic is "ITAR Restricted". The information and materials provided pursuant to or resulting from this topic are restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120 - 130, which control the export of defense-related material and services, including the export of sensitive technical data. Foreign Citizens may perform work under an award resulting from this topic only if they hold the "Permanent Resident Card", or are designated as "Protected Individuals" as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3). If a proposal for this topic contains participation by a foreign citizen who is not in one of the above two categories, the proposal will be rejected.

OBJECTIVE: The objective is to develop innovative new interfaces and the processing architectures that facilitate the transfer of terabytes of data per second from the digitizers of the signal acquisition front end to the processing resources of the EW system.

DESCRIPTION: The current stovepipe processing segments of SIGINT sensors drive size, weight, power, and logistical costs in many Electronic Warfare (EW) architectures that are comprised of several Receiving/Processing equipment sets. The System Commands (SYSCOM) have identified a need to reduce size, weight, power (SWaP), and cost while improving overall system performance and reducing operator workload.

As analog to digital converters (A/D), firmware processing, and CPU capabilities improve, there is an opportunity to develop new robust modular architectures with the ability to transfer terabytes of data per second. One issue with realizing this capability is that data transport from the RF digitization function to the algorithm processing function is currently "just right sized" with respect to interface bandwidth and is generally implemented as a point to point interface. This topic focuses on developing interface and processing architectures that will facilitate the ability to transfer terabytes of data over extended ranges (greater than 200 feet). Developmental efforts will include backplanes and both inter-chassis and intra-chassis interfaces to support the transfer of high speed, real time data between acquisition components and processing elements. Data types and throughput requirements should be sufficient to support a full SIGINT suit under stressful operational conditions. These products must be able to handle sustained data throughputs in excess of 5 Million Pulses per second per channel and be capable of moving Pulse Descriptor Words (PDW’s), Digitized IF (I/Q) data, Burst Digital IF (BDIF) and Continuous Digital IF (CDIF) in electronically dense environments. The products must be modular (developed to adhere to open standards) and must be low cost and low power devices. Interfaces must allow for the data to be moved from the digitizer components to the processing components in point to point and point to multi-point modes of operation.

The Navy is seeking technical innovation for transport interfaces that support sustained transfer rates of terabytes per second, point to multi-point distribution of these vast amounts of data, and the architecture to support enough processing to use these large amounts of data.

PHASE I: Develop concepts for extremely high speed data transfer mechanisms from multiple sensors. Demonstrate the feasibility of the concepts in transferring terabytes of data per second over 100 feet. Demonstrate the feasibility of technology development to achieve the objective. Develop and evaluate breadboard concepts of key technology components. Prepare a Phase II development plan with performance goals and key developmental milestones and identify risks and risk mitigation efforts.

PHASE II: Based on the results of Phase I and the Phase II development plan, develop a working prototype of the selected concept. Evaluate the data transfer system prototype in the laboratory to prove the ability of the concept to meet performance goals established in Phase I. Based on the results of the evaluation, finalize the concept into a preliminary design. Develop a detailed plan and method of implementation into a full-scale application

PHASE III: If Phase II is successful, the small business will be expected to support the Navy in transitioning the technology to Navy use should a Phase III award be made. The small business will implement the the data transfer system application within the Phase III plan developed in Phase II and will prepare a manufacturing plan for the technology to be utilized within the Navy. The small business will be expected to make the necessary teaming arrangements with the manufacturers of the components used in end product.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: There are significant civilian / commercial applications that can utilize the ability to transfer terabytes of data per second. The gaming industry is one such industry that would benefit from being able to transfer and process tremendously large amounts of data. Another industry that would benefit from this effort is the Video industry.

REFERENCES:
1. Fundamentals of Statistical Signal Processing, Vol. 1; Prentice Hall, Steven M. Kay, 1993

2. R. Wiley, The Analysis of Radar Signals, 2nd ed. London, U.K.: Artech House Press, 1993

3. The Beginnings of Solid State Radar, Hyltin, T.M.; IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, Volume 36, Issue 3, Part 1, July 2000

4. Introduction to Electronic Warfare Modeling and Simulation; David L. Adamy; SciTech Publishing (October 6, 2006); ISBN-10: 1891121626 /ISBN-13: 978-1891121623

5. Electronic Warfare in the Information Age; D. Curtis Schleher; Artech House Publishers (June 30, 1999); ISBN-10: 0890065268 / ISBN-13: 978-0890065266

6. EW 101: A First Course in Electronic Warfare; David L. Adamy; Artech House Publishers; 1 edition (February 2001); ISBN-10: 1580531695 / ISBN-13: 978-15805316967. EW 102: A Second Course in Electronic Warfare; Artech House Press, David L. Adamy, 2004

KEYWORDS: high speed data transfer; flexible open architectures; RF Digitizers; Optical interfaces; Electronic Warfare; point to multi point connections;

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

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