Azure Demonstrates OpenVPX Software-Definable RF Receiver to US Navy

Azure Summit Technology, a provider of high-performance RF electronics products for the Department of Defense, has announced that it has successfully demonstrated a 4-channel 3U open VPX software-definable RF receiver to the US Navy. Azure is in the process of finalizing the manufacturing and design of the receiver.

Azure’s 3U Switchblade receiver provides modular, open-architecture multi-channel RF performance with low SWAP. It includes fully integrated RF, digital, and on-board computing resources in a form factor well-suited to small unmanned air, surface, and subsurface platforms such as UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and UUVs (unmanned underwater vehicles). The 3U Switchblade is fully compatible with all tuner modules and software/firmware applications that are available and in use with Azure’s production Switchblade 6U transceivers, including both the 80 MHz and 500 MHz Instantaneous Bandwidth (IBW) tuners. It is also compatible with the Switchblade Wideband Transmitter Module, currently under development, that will enable the 3U to operate as a wideband transceiver.

“With the addition of the 3U form factor to the Switchblade product family, the Navy can deliver the same advanced RF mission capabilities to the warfighter across larger platforms, hosting the 6U, and smaller platforms, hosting the 3U, achieving substantial software/firmware reuse, simplified logistics, and lower development and lifecycle costs,” stated Azure Summit Technology CEO, Dr. Thomas Green, Jr.