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Technological Convergence in

Radar & EW

Barry Trimmer

2 /2 / Content

The Drivers for Change

� Bugetary ‘Pull’

� Technological ‘Push’

Two Alternate Paths for ISTAR


� Highly converged technology to provide multi-function sensors on

a single platform

� Highly co-operative sensing between platforms

The Key drivers for RF & Microwave

3 /3 / Drivers for Change / 1

Operational Capability and Budgetary

Cost Pressures

� The requirement for operational capability is

not obviously reducing

� In the ISTAR world with increasingly complex

situations it is arguably increasing

� The requirement for cost reduction in the

Military services is quite clear


Military services is quite clear

� Reductions in equipment and particularly in manpower

have been announced in the UK and elsewhere

around the world

The principal cost of any security

service is manpower

So…. ?

4 /4 / Drivers for Change / 2

Technological Trends

� Current technological advances that seem relevant to the problem

as applied to ISTAR are:

� Increasing generality in RF sensing technology

� Pervasive communication systems with IT like addressing and agreed standards

for content

� Increased automation / navigation / persistence capability in unmanned platforms


� All of these have the potential to maintain an ISTAR capability

while reducing the manpower burden

5 /5 / Tipping Points

The ‘tipping point’

� Tipping points occur when a technology or technology

combination suddenly becomes useful instead of interesting

� Recent example being the UAV

� For many years the technology that is about to come

� Combination of endurance, reliability and predictability makes it usable –

now almost essential


Transition

To Maturity

Low reliability

High levels of attention

Major cost

High reliability

Low levels of attention

Acceptable cost of service

Design is High Tech

only where really required

Transition

To Maturity

Low reliability

High levels of attention

Major cost

High reliability

Low levels of attention

Acceptable cost of service

Design is High Tech

only where really required

6 /6 / Two alternatives for ISTAR

Tipping points appear to

be happening now in two

regimes

� The use of digitisation over

sufficiently general

application to create multi-

functionality

40− 20− 0 20 4040−

30−

20−

10−

0

0

40−

2 dB

patt_mimo_tot 6( )i_ang

mx'

⋅

2 dB

patt_set_mimo5 6, ( )i_ang

mx

⋅

2 dBpatt_mimo_tot_int i_ang

mx'_int

⋅

4040− angi_ang

deg

0.5−

0

0.5

1

1

el_pos_rx_mimoi_x_rx_mimo i_y_rx_mimo, ( )0

el_pos_tx_mimoi_y_tx_mimo( )0


� The use of predictable,

persistent low cost

platforms, together with

pervasive communications

to create co-operation

technologies

Publish / Subscribe Boundary

PotentiallyAvailableAssets

Event /Target

Military User 1 (info, Q, T)



Publish / Subscribe Boundary

PotentiallyAvailableAssets

Event /Target




1− 0.5− 0 0.5 11−

0.5−

1−

0.7340.744− el_pos_rx_mimoi_x_rx_mimo i_y_rx_mimo, ( )1

el_pos_tx_mimoi_y_tx_mimo( )1

,

7 /7 / Co-operation

Aim

� To reduce the cost of ISTAR by using multiple co-operating low cost platforms to undertake tasks normally carried out by expensive, manpower intensive systems

Driving Technologies

� Pervasive communications to link multiple platforms

� Reliable navigation and long endurance of small unmanned systems


� Simple generic sensors

� Utilising CONOPS to reduce dynamic range requirements

Allows the same equipment to perform

� Radar and EW functions

� ELINT and COMINT functions

� Improved identification / location

Status

� Early research, but enabled by deployment of tactical UAS

8 /8 / Convergence

Aim

� To reduce the manpower and number of platforms required for ISTAR by making sensor / processing systems that can undertake multiple functions

Driving Technologies

� Use of digitisation over wide bandwidths and at high dynamic range

Use of common or combined processing to reduce the equipment


� Use of common or combined processing to reduce the equipment required or, sometimes, to extract information not available to the single sensor

Allows the same equipment to perform

� Radar and EW functions

� ELINT and COMINT functions

Status

� Early examples exist and are being deployed

9 /9 / Landscape

Line of Natural Language (includes Comms and Addressing)


Situation

Awareness

Command

& Control



Effector

II

Platform

Sensor

I

Effects

I

Sensor

Real World Phenomena

Signal LevelPlatforms

Mission

10 /10 / Convergence and Co-operation


Situation

Awareness

Command

& Control


Enabling co-operation at the mission system level between similar or dissimilar platforms


Enabling co-operation at the Signal or Processor level between or within platforms

I

Platform

I

Platform

Platforms

Mission

Sensor

I I

Sensor

Single PlatformMulti-functionality

Sensor

I

Processing or SignalLevel Co-operation

Automated /Autonomous co-operation

(Goal Oriented)

11 /11 / Convergence Possibilities

Situation

Awareness

Command

& Control



Mission

Sensor

I

Sensor

I

Two Sensors combinedat Mission System Level

Sensor

I

Sensor

Two Sensors combinedat Processing Level

Sensor

I

Two Sensors combinedat Aperture Level

12 /12 / Extreme Multi-functionality

In the Extreme

� Apertures are common

� Processing is Shared

� Dissimilar functions are carried out on common hardware


RF

Conditioning

RF

Conditioning

RF

Conditioning

RF

Conditioning

RF

Conditioning

RF

Conditioning

Digital

Conversion

Digital

Conversion

Digital

Conversion

Digital

Conversion

Digital

Conversion

Digital

Conversion

Digital Switch

Surveillance

Radar

Function

Electronic

Warfare

Function

Comms

Function

Tracking

Radar

Function

Why is this

‘a good thing?’

13 /13 / Architecture Advantages

Early digitisation architecture brings three distinct

advantages

� The use of major commercial development funding in both

conversion technologies and in high speed digital signal

processing

� The flexibility inherent in digital systems to allow multiple


� The flexibility inherent in digital systems to allow multiple

functions to be engineered on the same hardware

� The potential for non-linear processes to be used in the digital

domain which would be prohibitive to engineer in analogue form

� Particularly in detection processes

� Emergent potential for logical identity / detection processes

14 /14 / Implications of Multi-functionality for RF Design

Antennas

� Key question here is the level of convergence

� Aperture convergence is expensive and bespoke- but may be necessary for space constrained applications such as combat air

� There is a question of fully filled capability from the highest to the lowest frequencies vs the partially filled architectures such as MIMO

� Antenna designs are likely to converge in consistency of phase


� Antenna designs are likely to converge in consistency of phase and amplitude across arrays

� Not the difference between radar and EW requirements for aperture performance

RF Conditioning

� Given the advantages of the digital architecture, RF and conversion needs to achieve:

� Wide dynamic range for multiple signal conditions

� Predictable performance as saturation takes place

15 /15 / Conclusions

There are two technologies applicable to ISTAR

� Both aimed at maintaining capability in reducing budgets

Co-operation technology envisages simple sensors operating together to create situation awareness in a complex scenario

� Principle implications lie in tying multiple platforms with simple sensors together, together with assuring the availability of the


sensors together, together with assuring the availability of the platforms

Convergence envisages combining military functions in a single complex system to reduce the number of platforms / systems required to cover all the ISTAR tasks

� The implications for RF and microwave lie in

� converging the antenna approaches even if not combining apertures

� Creating high two-signal dynamic range RF conditioning and conversion

Both technologies are approaching their ‘tipping points’

16 /16 /

Questions ?Questions ?


Documents

Technological Convergence in Radar & EW - eumwa.org · ELINT and COMINT functions Status ... The implications for RF and microwave lie in converging the antenna approaches even if