Spectrum Efficient Technology
Abstract
Weapon systems have experienced a significant increase in complexity over the past fifty years, in which an extraordinary amount of data is passed among these systems, and between the systems and our test infrastructure. Accordingly, a vast amount of data must be collected, transmitted, and analyzed, which in turn requires a large amount of spectrum resources. However, the amount of radio frequency (RF) spectrum designated to support test and evaluation (T&E) is decreasing, most notably due to re-allocations for commercial use. This combination of decreasing RF spectrum with increasing data requirements results in an urgent need to create test technologies that maximize the use of spectrum resources for DoD T&E operations. The L and S frequency bands constitute the traditional spectrum allotted for military use. The explosive need for spectrum in the commercial sector has resulted in portions of these bands being reallocated to industry. To compensate for this, DoD has been authorized to use the C-Band spectrum. C-Band offers numerous benefits to DoD, including a three-fold increase in available bandwidth, but it comes with a number of technical challenges. Most notably, our test infrastructure for telemetry is not designed to accommodate C-Band. Technologies are required to implement innovative techniques that efficiently extend our use of C-Band without a major overhaul to our national test infrastructure. As a case in point, commercial telemetry transmitters operating in C-Band exist; however, they do not have the form factor (size and weight) or the packaging (i.e. not ruggedized) to survive airborne test applications. Traditional telemetry applications employ streaming telemetry in which data is moved one-way from the instrumented System Under Test to our test infrastructure. Modern network based telemetry capabilities, such as those being developed by the Central Test and Evaluation Investment Program (CTEIP), enable much more robust and efficient bidirectional transfer of data. DoD’s strategy is to create technologies for streaming telemetry capability in C-Band, thereby opening up the legacy L and S-Bands for networked telemetry usage. The Spectrum Efficient Technology (SET) area is pursuing T&E technologies that enable more efficient use of legacy telemetry bands and expansion into non-traditional areas of the RF and optical spectra. These technology advancements will address both the growing data requirements of warfighting systems and the limited availability of spectrum to support T&E. The SET area is structured to develop technologies required for a networked telemetry system, improve efficiency of streaming telemetry hardware, and pursue technologies required to utilize the C-Band spectrum. Several technology advancements supporting the development of networked telemetry systems serve as risk reduction efforts for CTEIP.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Project
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2012
- Source ID
- 2_0603941D8Z_3_0400_PB_2012
Related Documents
- Root: Test and Evaluation/Science and Technology
- Child Accomplishment: Spectrum Efficient Technology