General Dynamics to Develop Open Architecture Back-End RF Processor for US Air Force

Finally, a plug-and-play DSP 

By Nick Flaherty www.flaherty.co.uk

The US Air Force has awarded General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems a $7.8m contract to develop an Open System Architecture (OSA) common back-end digital processor for the entire family of Air Force radio frequency (RF) electronic devices, to include radars, SIGINT sensors, electronic-warfare and communication systems.
Under the contract, General Dynamics will use open interface standards to develop modular, "plug and play," multi-mission electronic back-end processors that leverage technologies developed under other OSA initiatives conducted by the Office of Naval Research. Back-end processors are used to analyse sensor signals, once they have been converted from analogue to digital formats, that have been collected by the RF devices.
General Dynamics will provide a single family of processors capable of handling the digital processing needs of all Air Force RF systems. Because the General Dynamics open architecture eliminates the need for proprietary interfaces, the Air Force will benefit from competition from multiple vendors and will be able to take advantage of rapid technology upgrades as well as cost savings throughout the lifecycle of the processor.
Work under the contract will be performed in Bloomington, Minn., Fairfax, Va., Waimea, Hawaii and Ypsilanti, Mich.
"Leveraging our proven open architecture and open business model, General Dynamics will provide the Air Force with an increased airborne and spaceborne processing capability and a significant reduction in life-cycle cost," said Mike Tweed-Kent, vice president and general manager of Mission Integration Systems Division for General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems.