BAE Systems has developed a lightweight, handheld tactical sensor for use in the US Army. By using cognitive processing algorithms, the handheld electronic warfare (EW) technology can quickly detect and identify multiple interfering signals, such as jammers or enemy communication signals, across a wide spectrum and in changing and challenging environments.
This capability can be leveraged across multiple platforms and can integrate, for example, into a variety of EW, SIGINT, and signal receiver and communication systems. According to the company, it improves on today’s portable spectrum analysers, which are “often bulky, power hungry and unable to handle interference or classify the signals they detect”.
Using advanced signal processing algorithms, the company was able to significantly reduce the time and computing power needed to process detected signals, to the degree that the system only requires one low-power chip. The result is a 10-times reduction in size, weight and power compared to conventional spectrum analysers, the company claims.
“By drastically reducing the size, weight and power of this new cognitive EW system, we’re making it easier for our warfighters to be aware of, classify and manage a wide range of signals in the battlespace, which is crucial for tactical situational awareness,” said Joshua Niedzwiecki, director of sensor processing and exploitation at BAE Systems.
“Better situational awareness on the battlefield means superior protection for our troops and a greater ability to defeat hostile threats,” said Niedzwiecki.
During recent field tests, the technology was able to successfully detect and identify more than 10 signal types across a wide bandwidth in the presence of interference.
Meanwhile, BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems (along with DRS Network and Imaging Systems) have also been awarded US Army contracts worth more than $720 million for crew-served weapons sights.
Crew-served weapons operated by the US Army include high-precision rifles, medium and heavy machine guns, automatic grenade launchers, mortars with calibers less than 120mm, anti-tank guns, anti-aircraft guns, shoulder-launched missiles and ground-positioned anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.