The electromagnetic spectrum has become a scarce resource. To protect broadband RF systems in congested electromagnetic environments or hostile airspace, DARPA is launching a program . The selection of candidates will begin in February.
A press release has been published on the website of the US Department of Defense Advanced Research Agency (DARPA) announcing the launch of the WARP (Wideband Adaptive RF Protection) program. DARPA loves speaking abbreviations. The name of the new program can be translated as "wormhole" - a fantastic area of ββspace through which unthinkable distances can be overcome without interference. The WARP program does not pretend to be science fiction, but promises to help the military and civilians stop pushing their elbows in an overloaded radio air.
The operation of radio frequency systems in the form of radars or communication networks is increasingly subject to interference from both its own and external signals. In the face of enemy opposition, problems will increase many times over, which poses a threat to the fulfillment of missions. Current approaches to wideband receiver interference mitigation are suboptimal and result in forced trade-offs in terms of signal sensitivity, bandwidth usage and system performance. But many of these parameters cannot be sacrificed categorically.
To solve the problems of protecting broadband digital radio stations from the maximum possible spectrum of interference, it is proposed to develop a technology of "cognitive radio". RF systems will have to independently "learn" the electromagnetic environment in the air and, for example, in the form of wideband tunable filters, automatically adapt to maintain the dynamic range of the receiver without reducing the sensitivity or bandwidth of the signal.
To combat self-generated interference, the WARP program recommends the creation of adaptive analog signal suppressors. Sometimes the system's own transmitter is the biggest source of interference for the receiver. For this, reception and transmission are usually carried out at different frequencies. In conditions of spectrum deficiency, it is reasonable to broadcast in both directions on the same frequency, but it is important to exclude the influence of the transmitter on the receiver. So far, this concept has had limited use, which WARP will have to deal with with the help of analog compensators and subsequent digital processing.
Finally, developments under the WARP program will help to expand the use of the new concept of software-defined radios (SDR) in congested and dynamic spectral environments, which is currently limited. The US military uses SDR technology to transmit and process signals using different frequencies and standards. The US Army relies on the SDR to communicate between units and allied forces. But in a limited spectrum environment, SDR technology does not work well.
Source: 3dnews.ru