Navy researchers kick off program to improve electronic warfare and signal processing

Posted by John Keller

ARLINGTON, Va., 4 Dec. 2009. U.S. Navy researchers plan to award several contracts aimed at improving electronic warfare technology and electronic warfare signal processing in the RF, electro-optical, and infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) in Arlington, Va., is soliciting industry proposals for the Electronic Warfare Discovery and Invention (D&I) program, which is expected to yield research contracts worth $3 million per year from 2011 to 2013.

This program seeks to provide the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps with improved threat warning systems; decoys and countermeasures against weapon tracking, and guidance systems; electronic attack against enemy command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR); and electronic protection of Navy and Marine Corps weapons and C4ISR from intentional and unintentional interference.

Electronic warfare pertains to controlling the electromagnetic spectrum by exploiting, deceiving, or denying enemy use of the spectrum while ensuring its use by U.S. and allied forces.

The ONR's broad agency announcement (ONR BAA 10-007) is asking industry for proposals to develop and demonstrate technologies for next-generation components and systems in electronic warfare.

White papers and subsequent proposals should address technology developments in ways to monitor the RF, electro-optical, and infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum, classify and locate emitters, as well as monitor and track enemy forces.

The Navy is particularly interested in network-enabled electronic warfare; data-link requirements for distributed electronic warfare; information management of distributed electronic warfare systems; and small unattended electronic warfare systems on unmanned vehicles or in unattended locations.

Navy interest also extends to inexpensive electronic warfare receivers, particularly with integrated and chip-scale components; wideband apertures that combine compact size with high gain; improving isolation between emitting and receiving apertures on small platforms; reducing size, weight, and power (SWAP) of electronic warfare components; common signal processing protocols and database techniques; and control of a dispersed array of electronic warfare systems.

Navy researches also would like to improve electronic warfare adaptive signal processing ability to detect and identify weak RF, electro-optical, and infrared signals in strong interference, as well as coordinated electronic warfare techniques.

Potential solutions might include passive coherent location (PCL) systems, anti-radiation homing (ARH) sensors, infrared search and track (IRST) systems, adversary electronic warfare systems, and acoustic detection sensors.

Potential funding for this program is $3 million per year from 2011 to 2013 to be shared among several contractors. An industry day to brief companies on program details will be 10 a.m. 7 Jan. 2010 in Arlington, Va. To register for the industry day -- and to get an e-mail notice of the location, log on to a secure server at https://secure.onr.navy.mil/events/regdetail.asp?cid=585.

White papers are due no later than 2 Feb. 2010. Only those submitting white papers are eligible to submit full proposals. Proposals are due to ONR no later than 11 May 2010.

For technical questions contact the ONR's Peter Craig by e-mail at [email protected], or David Tremper at [email protected].

For business questions contact the ONR's Silvia Molinillo by e-mail at [email protected], or Vera Carroll at [email protected].

More information is online at https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DON/ONR/ONR/ONRBAA10-007/listing.html

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