The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded BAE Systems’ FAST Labs research and development organisation a USD 14 M (EUR 12.88 M) contract for the Massive Cross Correlation (MAX) programme, the company announced on 16 August 2023.
Under the programme BAE Systems will develop technology aimed at enabling the deployment of advanced signal processing and computation on a new smaller category of military platform.
“Signal processing is at the heart of critical US Department of Defense (DoD) technology such as sensing, imaging, and communications systems. Correlators are a vital tool in comparing, contrasting, and ultimately processing signals,” the company explained in a press release. “Current digital correlators are large, power-hungry systems that are the size of a briefcase. BAE Systems’ approach to developing analogue correlators will maintain or improve performance while reducing the system to the size of a hockey puck.”
As part of the programme BAE Systems seeks to deliver a radically more power-efficient analogue correlator with high dynamic range and wide bandwidth. It will enhance capabilities in areas such as synthetic aperture radar image classification and image formation, automatic target recognition, passive coherent location, and jam-resistant communications in small-form-factor platforms.
“Smaller and more efficient systems improve size, weight, power, and costs to allow for full-spectrum signal processing closer to the edge, or onto platforms operating in denied airspace,” Bryan Choi, technology development director at FAST Labs, was quoted as saying. “This disruptive analogue correlator technology can result in enhanced decision making, allow mission-critical technology to be deployed on smaller platforms, and create a new category of systems.”
Work on the MAX programme, which is part of BAE Systems’ sensor technologies portfolio, includes collaboration with subcontractor the University of Minnesota.
Peter Felstead
