Electronic Warfare: CTD Extensions focus on EW self-protection | ADM May 2009
This has thrown the spotlight on a number of electronic warfare (EW) related projects and emerging Australian industry capabilities.
Gregor Ferguson, Sydney
The CTD Extension program is funded on the same annual budget cycle as the CTDs themselves and is designed to help selected CTDs cross the financial ‘valley of death' which is the graveyard of so many promising technologies.
However, while $10 million funds a lot of R&D in CTDs at a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of about 4 or 5 - that is, component validation in a laboratory or operational environment - taking the technology a couple of levels higher is very much more expensive.
A CTD Extension program at TRL 6 or 7 - a prototype or system demonstration in a relevant or operational environment - requires a far greater investment in things like systems integration and ‘productionisation'.
Hence, only four CTD Extensions can be funded from a $13 million budget.
The two EW CTDs to gain extension funding were Project Scrannel, for which Adelaide-based SME Avalon Systems is the contractor; and a Passive Infra Red (IR) suppression system for helicopter and fixed wing aircraft exhaust plumes - GKN Aerospace is prime contractor, building on Intellectual Property (IP) developed originally by DSTO.
A third EW CTD just failed to make the cut for extension funding this year - Project Sea 1657 - Cuttlefish, for which BAE Systems (formerly Tenix) is the contractor, was due to undergo sea trials in April and so won't be eligible for extension funding until the next round in 2010.
Scrannel was funded as part of CTD Round 10 in mid-2006; much of the detail of this technology is classified, but broadly it was designed to demonstrate an enhanced missile detection system that could provide ships under threat with additional warning time, and thus increase their chances of surviving an attack.
The CTD ran to mid-2008 and met all of its objectives.
These weren't unrealistically ambitious: they didn't include a live trial aboard a ship, for example, and got the project almost to TRL 6: Prototype Demonstration in an Operational Environment.
But the promise it showed was sufficient for the DG Maritime Development (DGMD) to make it his highest priority for extension funding.
The two and a half year extension program is designed to help mature the Scrannel software and hardware and increase their performance, hopefully culminating in a full-scale demonstration at sea using ADF assets.
If the project negotiates this hurdle successfully the next challenge will be opening up a pathway from prototype to production, an area where Australia's track record is patchy.
The other EW-related CTD to win extension funding was GKN Aerospace's passive IR signature attenuation system for helicopters.
With a development focus on the CH-47D Chinook, this has much wider applications, according to GKN director Tony Quick who declined to discuss the detail of how the technology works.
The technology comes from DSTO and was the subject of a Round 6 CTD back in 2002-03 - the focus then was on the C-130 Hercules; the CTD ran for two years, culminating in development of sub-scale hardware and models for laboratory tests at DSTO's Infrared Suppression Test Facility (IRSTF) at Fishermens Bend.
Similar approaches have been tried elsewhere in the world in recent years but without marked success.
The CTD demonstrated potential well beyond what's currently available on the world market; despite going into temporary abeyance for business reasons quite unrelated to the technology, its promise remains undiminished.
The extension program, expected to run between 18 months and two years, will take the concept right up to full-scale hardware testing on a static engine rig.
If this proves successful the next step (not part of the currently funded CTD extension) would be a flight test.
The device needs to be mounted on the helicopter airframe or engine; the configuration must be such that it is safe, robust and doesn't affect engine performance unduly while being effective enough to justify the cost and weight penalties associated with carrying extra equipment.
GKN Aerospace has been working closely with DSTO to develop the design and will be prime contractor during the extension phase and will manage the test and demonstration work; DSTO will be a sub-contractor along with AeroStaff in Melbourne which will carry out much of the precision fabrication work on the test hardware.
Longer-term if the concept is successful, the technology lends itself to both turbine helicopters and turboprop fixed-wing aircraft, says Tony Quick and GKN Aerospace will need to maintain a close partnership with DSTO to address follow-on opportunities.
Maritime EW challenges
Meanwhile, the former Tenix Defence's Electronic Systems Division, now part of BAE Systems, is continuing work on other EW-related CTDs, most of them focussed on the maritime domain.
The first of these is Project Sea 1657 - Cuttlefish.
Again, the technology employed in this CTD is classified, but the operational requirement is simple enough to grasp: hostile surveillance aircraft can use advanced imaging radars, especially Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) sensors to detect, identify and track surface ships and coordinate attacks.
This CTD aims to demonstrate a significantly enhanced ability for vessels such as large, lightly armed amphibious transport and supply ships to defeat such surveillance.
The marriage between Tenix and BAE Systems has brought some of the latter's EW technology to bear, particularly some of the lessons learned during the development of the ALR-2002 Radar Warning Receiver (RWR).
The contractor has carried out a number of mini-demonstrations and trials, but the major CTD demonstration was scheduled for April, with the final report due this month or in June.
Company sources declined to discuss the nature of the trials, saying only that a range of assets would be employed.
If deemed sufficiently promising Cuttlefish could be a strong contender for extension funding in 2010, under DGMD sponsorship.
Another CTD was a strong contender this year but missed out: this was the Integrated Electronic Warfare System CTD involving BAE Systems, Daronmont Technologies, SAAB Systems and Tenix Defence.
It was designed to develop and demonstrate an open architecture system for fusing electronic surveillance data and video information in near-real time to detect and track moving objects; provide size and geo-location information to support targeting; and enhance detection probabilities.
ADM understands the Integrated EW System was a very strong contender for extension funding but in the melting pot of priorities and scarce resources it missed the cut.
DSTO and CDG are still very supportive, however, and it could be a contender for the next round of extension funding.
Meanwhile, ADM understands the company is understood to be working up a follow-on CTD proposal to take the original idea further.
The newly consolidated BAE Systems is also now working on two other EW-related CTDs: one addressing anti-jam GPS technology, which got under way last year; and a high-performance Millimetre Wave Digital Receiver CTD designed for detecting and DF-ing (direction finding) Low Probability of Intercept (LPI) emitters.
The latter was also started in 2008 and will see the company design and demonstrate an Open Architecture (OA) receiver that's able to tackle emerging maritime threats - in particular, a new generation of anti-ship missile seeker heads.
As noted previously in ADM, there's nothing particularly new about such a receiver but this CTD will build on a previous (also classified) CTD program, SIDEARM, which saw DSTO develop a range of photonic components and techniques.
Employing these in the digital millimetre wave receiver will enable higher processing bandwidth - for both series and parallel processing - as well as reduced power losses in cable runs between the antenna and receiver and a lighter, more compact installation.
The receiver is due for demonstration, at a land-based test site rather than at sea, during the final quarter of this year, with the project due to wrap up in December.
While GKN Aerospace's Passive IR Suppressor has a development path across the aerospace sector, and potentially a global market place, the other CTDs covered here focus very firmly on the maritime environment.
What isn't clear is what role these might potentially play in the Anzac frigate and AWD maritime EW programs, and how a promising CTD outcome can be transitioned into a robust, qualified product.
The CTD Extension program aids this process, but much still depends on the companies themselves to fund a product development project and de-risk it sufficiently that it represents a genuine acquisition option for CDG.
The tender for the EW system for the Hobart-class AWDs closes on 20 May; and an RFP to solicit options for replacing or upgrading the EW system on the Anzacs closed in March.
It's not clear how hard the RAN or the AWD Alliance will push for an EW system that can be adopted right across the surface fleet (FFG excepted), and therefore what potential there might be for injections down the track of new technology developed in the CTD and extension programs.
Airborne ECM
While the Passive IR Suppression CTD has been extended, another significant airborne EW program is due to reach a critical milestone late this year.
BAE Systems is working with Adelaide University on a Directed Infrared Countermeasures (DIRCM) CTD which is due to carry out a benchtop demonstration during the final quarter of this year.
At the heart of this project is the ability to separate the laser source and the lens, with the laser light being transmitted down a flexible fibre optic path rather than a complex array of mirrors.
This should provide a lighter, more flexible and more compact installation.
Under this CTD Adelaide University is providing the advanced fibre-optic cable, which was developed under its photonics research program headed by Professor Tanya Monroe.
This will carry the laser light from DSTO's experimental MURLIN laser to a representative laser projector.
While there are still some technology maturity issues to be dealt with, ADM understands this CTD is on track for a demonstration late this year that would place it at TRL 5/6.
If the CTD lives up to its promise the next step could be an extension program over the next year or so which would take it up to TRL 7 - in effect a flight demonstration using the OZDIRCM turret developed last year by the CTD prime and systems integrator BAE Systems (formerly Tenix).
This turret showed considerable promise and BAE Systems is now incorporating some enhancements which a new round of flight tests would help to validate.
It's arguable that the CTD program is under-funded; however, at the TRL of typical CTD a little money can go a long way.
It's probably more pertinent to argue that the CTD Extension program is under-funded: this would seem to be a promising mechanism for supporting the development of technologies and capabilities that can provide a clear tactical and operational advantage to the war fighter.
It can also stimulate defence industry growth and prosperity.