The armed forces see Software Defined Radios (SDR) as an optimal solution to combat the ever-changing communications technologies surrounding traditional manpack radios that are used in today’s ground vehicles. SDRs enables the radio chassis to run multiple wavelengths or can accept an upgrade capability by simply changing out payload cards. By using a single chassis as the base platform, there have been significant size, weight, and power (SWaP) improvements for the vehicle and platform integrations. This enables the combination of shared resources and, by reducing the amount of man-pack radios, decreases the tax on the vehicle’s electrical system.
Both the US Army and DOD are pushing for SDR chassis to meet the certain standards put forth by C4ISR/EW Modular Open Suite of Standards (CMOSS) using the VPX form factor for payloads. This form factor has been supported and developed by both the government and industry through VITA and SOSA standards bodies. This combined set of standards allows for the modularity and future proofing of VPX payloads
As a prominent member of both standards bodies, we have been actively involved from both a technical and business standpoint in the development of the open architecture which will allow more timely upgrades. Not only we became an expert in setting these standards, but as an active members, we have the visibility to see what kind of changes are coming in the specification and understanding of how power and networking might be impacted in an open-architecture framework.
Within the chassis, there will likely be multiple transceivers, single board computers, RF and Ethernet switches, and power supplies. Within these multi-payload applications in a single chassis, there will be complex RF challenge. We built an impressive reputation when it comes to working in complex RF environments with experience in radar, satellite, and electronic warfare applications. We look forward endless possibilities to provide both power and networking solutions by growing, adapting, and collaborating within the CMOSS SDR Platform.
