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Modular Expendable Electronic Warfare (EW) Decoy Buoy for Undersea Platforms
Navy SBIR 2016.1 - Topic N161-051 NAVSEA - Mr. Dean Putnam - [email protected] Opens: January 11, 2016 - Closes: February 17, 2016 N161-051 TITLE: Modular Expendable Electronic Warfare (EW) Decoy Buoy for Undersea Platforms TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Battlespace, Electronics, Sensors ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PMS 435, Submarine Electromagnetic Systems; SIRFSUP (FNT-FY15-04). The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with section 5.4.c.(8) of the solicitation. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws. OBJECTIVE: Develop a low cost, expendable Electronic Warfare (EW) decoy buoy that can be launched out of a submarine 3-inch launcher. DESCRIPTION: The submarine force requires a low cost expendable EW decoy buoy which is not currently available. Submarines operate in littoral and open ocean environments; and it is imperative that submarines remain covert during these missions. This topic will give the submarine the ability to evade detection when at periscope depth by providing a deceptive signature to lure away potential adversaries. Today�s submarine force has become increasingly exposed to more sophisticated and capable radar environments. The chance of becoming detected during missions is becoming more likely. The submarine force has limited options on how to operate in contested regions and has no mechanism to help elude detection. By developing a low cost, expendable EW decoy buoy for undersea platforms, submarines will significantly improve their survivability in dense, hostile environments by providing a deceptive signature to lure away potential adversaries (ref. 1). In the future (through this topic), the submarine force will possess a deceptive decoy that can be deployed to degrade or deceive increasingly capable radar systems (ref. 3 and 4). This buoy will have the ability to be programmed by the AN/BLQ-10B (V) via an interface (the submarine EW suite), and will need the ability to be launched out of the submarines 3-inch launcher or ejector. This payload needs to be reconfigurable to allow for tailoring to the operational environment (ref. 4 and 5). The configurable modules need to account for an energy module (a battery module), a technique generation module (a digital radio frequency (RF) memory card), and an antenna/RF conditioning module (this is the interface between the technique generator module and the RF energy in the air) (ref. 2). These modules must survive depths greater than 800 feet. The system must be reconfigurable and operate over a frequency range of 1 gigahertz (GHz) to 40 GHz. The decoy must be able to operate for greater than 2 hours and must not require direct connection to the host submarine to operate. To make the modules affordable and expendable the goal is to have them cost less than $7,000 each. There is currently no capability in the submarine community that meets this need. The Phase II and Phase III efforts will likely require secure access, and NAVSEA will process the DD254 to support the contractor for personnel and facility certification for secure access. The Phase I effort will not require access to classified information. If required, data of the same level of complexity as secured data will be provided to support Phase I work. PHASE I: The company will develop a concept design for a low cost, expendable EW decoy buoy and demonstrate the feasibility of the concept through simulation or limited testing. The modular, reconfigurable EW decoy buoy will need to meet the requirements in the description section and can be launched out of a submarine 3-inch signal ejector. The Phase I Option, if awarded will require an initial layout and capabilities description to build a prototype in Phase II. PHASE II: Based on the results of Phase I effort and the Phase II Statement of Work (SOW), the company will develop an EW decoy buoy prototype. The company will further develop and refine RF processing and technique generation, perform bench level lab experiments to demonstrate performance of this capability in a representative 3-inch form factor as a minimum. The EW decoy buoy prototype will be delivered at the end of the Phase II. Companies participating in Phase II will be required to prepare a plan to transition the technology to the Navy under Phase III. PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: The company will be expected to support the Navy in transitioning the EW decoy buoy to a capable undersea platform program of record (POR) through the Submarine Electromagnetic Systems program office (NAVSEA PEOSUBS PMS435 � AN/BLQ-10B (V)). Entering Phase III we expect the project to be at TRL 7 and at the end of PHASE III the product will be expected to be at TRL 9. The company will finalize design and fabricate the EW decoy buoy, according to the Phase III SOW, to determine the systems effectiveness in an operationally relevant environment. The company will support the Navy for test and validation, in accordance Submarine Electromagnetic Systems program office specifications (see the AN/BLQ-10B (V) performance Specification (S) and the Submarine ES CDD (S) � these will be made available to the PHASE II participants once all DD254�s are in place), to certify and qualify the system for Navy use and for transition to an operational platform. Following testing and validation, the end design is expected to transition to the PoR. The option of expendable RF buoys should prove useful in many applications. The more specific EW decoy payloads have applicability to homeland defense, law enforcement, and private-security systems. REFERENCES: 1. Wiley, Richard G., "ELINT: The Interception and Analysis of Radar Signals," London, U.K.: Artech House Press, 1993; http://www.artechhouse.com/uploads/public/documents/chapters/Wiley_925_CH04.pdf. 2. Volakis, John, Antenna engineering Handbook, Fourth Edition, New York, NY, McGraw-Hill, 2007 (Chapter 47, Kellog, Robert; Mack, Eldon; Crews, Cathy, "Direction finding Antennas & Systems"); http://accessengineeringlibrary.com/browse/antenna-engineering-handbook-fourth-edition 3. Milojevic, D.J.; Popovic, B.M.; "Improved algorithm for the deinterleaving of radar pulses, Radar and Signal Processing," IEE Proceedings F, Volume 139, Issue 1, Feb. 1992 Page(s):98 � 104. 4. Frankpitt B.; Baras J.; Tse A., "A new approach to deinterleaving for radar intercept receivers," Radar sensor technology. Conference 2003, vol. 5077, pp. 175-186. 5. Dorwin C. Black, John R. Altoft, and John C. Sciortino, Jr., "Transition matrices for the detection and removal of signal contamination in deinterleaved pulse trains," Proc. SPIE 6235, 62351J (2006). KEYWORDS: Decoy; expendable buoy; submarine 3 inch signal ejector; EW; submarine missions; deceptive electronic signature TPOC-1: Steven Henry Phone: 401-832-7849 Email: [email protected] TPOC-2: Jeffrey Carvalho Phone: 401-832-3527 Email: [email protected] Questions may also be submitted through DoD SBIR/STTR SITIS website.
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