Three U.S. companies eye next-generation RF and electro-optical sensors
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio — Three U.S. technology companies are helping U.S. Air Force researchers develop new enabling technologies for next-generation electro-optical (EO) and radio-frequency (RF) sensors, communications, information processing, imaging, and signals intelligence (SIGINT) applications.
Sensors, communications, information processing, imaging, and signals intelligence (SIGINT) are the focus of Air Force technology development.
Officials of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, are working with Defense Engineering Corp. in Beavercreek, Ohio; optX Imaging Systems LLC in Lorton, Va.; and Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Louisville, Colo., on the Research and Development of Electro-Optical and Radio Frequency Sensors (RADERS) project.
Defense Engineering won a $3.9 million RADERS contract in August; optX Imaging Systems won a $748,315 RADERS contract in May; and Lockheed Martin won a $192,009 RADERS contract in August.
RADERS concerns 12 EO/RF technology areas:
- antenna technologies and electromagnetic (EM) scattering;
- electro-optic and infrared (EO/IR) sensor technology;
- sensor information processing and integration;
- EO/IR, spectral, and common-aperture electro-optic/radio-frequency (EO/RF) hardware and algorithms;
- waveform phenomenology, design, and applications;
- ultra-sensitive receivers for signals intelligence;
- long-range day and night hyperspectral imaging research;
- standoff high-resolution imaging;
- infrared search and track (IRST) technology;
- passive concept exploration;
- laser radar (ladar) imaging, systems, components, and applications; and
- RF sensor systems.
Defense Engineering will carry out EO/RF research in distributed radar electromagnetics and antennas for multispectral evaluation and research. Lockheed Martin, meanwhile, will carry out research in 3-D ladar targeting.
For more information contact Defense Engineering Corp. online at http://defengcorp.com, optX Imaging Systems at www.optximaging.com, or Lockheed Martin Space Systems at www.lockheedmartin.com.
John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.