RF Mapping Offers Intelligence, Communications Capabilities
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The US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded Lockheed Martin a contract for the third phase of its RF Mapping program, RadioMap, which seeks to provide real-time awareness of radio spectrum use across frequency, geography and time.
Much like smartphone maps that show color-coded current traffic conditions, RadioMap is developing technology that visually overlays spectrum information on a map enabling rapid frequency deconfliction and maximizing use of available spectrum for communications and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems.
Defense World reports that Lockheed Martin Corp. in Manassas, Virginia, was recently awarded an $11.8 million Phase 3 contract to further develop technology from Phases 1 and 2 into a full system suitable for transition to the military services.
Today’s interconnected wireless world has led to congested airwaves, making Radio Frequency (RF) management a hot topic. For military members around the globe, efficiently managing the congested RF spectrum is critical to ensure effective communications and intelligence gathering.
According to John Chapin, DARPA program manager, “RadioMap uses existing radios and jammers that do double-duty. In the ‘down’ time when they aren’t performing their primary function, the devices sense the spectrum around them and, through RadioMap technology, provide an accurate picture of what frequencies are currently in use and where.”
RadioMap seeks to make spectrum management more efficient by giving operators the tools to see real and potential frequency interference and usage. For example, a forward-deployed unit might reserve a particular frequency for a communications link at a specific time, but due to the dynamic nature of the situation, the frequency ends up not being needed.
