In the world of electronic counter measures (ECM), there is a constant battle of one-upmanship, where each side is continually innovating to stay ahead of the other. ECM are typically developed and implemented to thwart an adversary’s specific radar technology. To be effective, Electronic Attack* (EA) systems must be able to identify emitters in the environment and then selectively attack with specific techniques. They must also possess the ability to attack multiple emitters simultaneously with a combination of noncoherent and coherent jamming techniques.

Modern warfare often involves poorly defined battle lines accompanied by multilevel fire support systems that can deliver firepower with high precision and devastating lethality from a long distance. The ability to immediately and accurately discriminate through sight between friend and foe is of great importance to military operations for effectively destroying hostile forces while preventing fratricide. This ability is even more crucial for irregular and unconventional warfare such as anti-terrorism operations where US forces often engage enemy combatants well entrenched in urban settings or rugged terrains at night. In such battlefield conditions, using conventional daylight and thermal imagery often exceeds the ability to accurately identify targets as friend or foe, and more reliable battlefield identification methods are needed.

The proliferation of unmanned military vehicles tasked with critical communications and radar requirements drives the need for powerful data acquisition and signal processing products that must fit into increasingly tighter spaces. New industry standards meeting these needs offer smaller circuit boards and enclosures, optical gigabit serial links, and advanced thermal management strategies. With new resources found in the latest processors and FPGAs, system designers can now create powerful, compact systems surpassing performance levels achievable only a few years ago.

Global warming and environmental friendliness considerations have recently been key for multiple global industries. In the commercial aviation industry, reduction of aircraft emissions, including CO₂ and noise, is an urgent priority. Both aircraft and aircraft engine manufacturers are striving to improve design to accommodate the needs of commercial airlines. Engine manufacturers in particular have worked long and hard to improve each engine component, e.g., compressors, turbines, combustors, etc.

by Richard Gardner

For well over a century the word “Sheffield” has been synonymous with high-quality steel products, ranging from cutlery to heavy engineering products for bridges, railways, and aircraft. Following many years of industrial decline as much traditional large-scale manufacturing departed in the direction of low-wage Asian economies, the region suffered accordingly.

State-of-the-art RF integrated circuits (ICs) achieve high performance via custom circuit elements with dedicated signal paths for application-specific functions, but long design lead times and non-recurring fabrication costs increase time-to-market for new applications and limit reuse. The key to developing an RF FPGA (radio frequency field-programmable gate array) is to provide RF switching components with very low insertion loss and high isolation that can be integrated with high-performance RF circuits in silicon germanium (SiGe) and gallium nitride (GaN) technologies, and integrating these circuits in a reconfigurable topology to allow an RF FPGA to perform a wide variety of functions.

L-3 Communications Linkabit (Melbourne, FL) develops defense communications and electronic warfare systems to protect soldiers and save lives on the battlefield. A division of L-3 Communications, the sixth-largest defense company in the United States, Linkabit focuses on developing systems that safeguard troops in the field by obscuring visibility, jamming radar signals, intercepting communications, and disrupting infrared transmissions.

Equilibar
Fletcher, NC
828-650-6590
www.equilibar.com

To support air assets, the US Navy’s Altitude Laboratory in Maryland is tasked with testing On-Board Oxygen Generating Systems (OBOGS). The lab has three hypobaric chambers to assess mechanical breathing simulators at altitudes up to 60,000 feet. The altitude in the chambers is simulated by precisely regulating the vacuum pressure.

Northrop Grumman Corp.
Falls Church, VA
703-280-2900
www.northropgrumman.com

Northrop Grumman Corporation has integrated and employed an internal miniature electronic attack payload on the Bat unmanned aircraft, marking the first time that such a system was used in operation on a Group III (small, tactical) system.

Lenco Industries
Pittsfield, MA
413-443-7359
www.LencoArmor.com

Lenco Industries has introduced the BearCat® EOD “BombCat” armored response vehicle for bomb disposal teams and EOD and IEDD first responders. Designed with input from veteran explosive ordinance disposal experts, the Bomb- Cat accommodates a large tactical robot like the Andros F6A, which can be readily accessed using a fold-down ramp at the curb side door or deployed from a hydraulically controlled platform located at the front of the vehicle.