BAE Systems has announced that it has successfully demonstrated its new small-form-factor Hedgehog semiconductor technology, which is designed to sense radio frequency (RF) and communication signals in congested and contested battle environments while integrated with an unmanned aerial system (UAS).
The demonstration was conducted during a military exercise attended by representatives from multiple research labs and military service branches, during which the Hedgehog technology was used to support Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Distributed RF Analysis and Geolocation on Networked System (DRAGONS) research. The DRAGONS program is designed to deliver a drone-integrated, small form factor signal identification and geolocation capability.
Hedgehog, which is based on a collection of general-purpose, reconfigurable MATRICs chips in a software-defined radio (SDR) system, allows forward operators to secure tactical signals intelligence and geolocation data in near real-time with low size, weight and power (SWaP) requirements. The technology provides agility, a broad frequency range, and high instantaneous bandwidth.
Chris Rappa, product line director for Radio Frequency, Electronic Warfare, and Advanced Electronics at BAE Systems FAST Labs, commented: “Our successful demonstration underscores the capabilities of our breakthrough Hedgehog technology moving one step closer toward operational readiness. The importance of this potentially game-changing technology is that it can be deployed for many different purposes across a multitude of platforms and mission types, providing deployed units with a tactical advantage only previously possible with large scale platform support.”
