Defence
Modern defence systems rely on high performance electronic hardware.
Plextek has extensive experience in the design of defence electronics.
We are familiar with obsolescence management and the design of defence
products using Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) components. We are able
to use our experience in the development
of cost competitive commercial products to assist defence equipment
manufacturers in the design of defence electronics, so allowing them
to make significant cost savings. This model has been proven on a number
of high volume military applications currently in service with the British
Defence Forces. We are also able to offer rapid development programmes
or provide enhancements and essential modifications to existing equipment
to meet Urgent Operational Requirements (UOR). Examples of some of the
defence programmes that we've undertaken include:
- Various phased array Radar design and development
programmes
- DSP based multi-channel receivers
- IFF Transponder design
- Assessment of technology options for Unattended Ground Sensors (UGS)" to "Communications and Processing platform for Unattended Ground Sensors (UGS)
- 2-18GHz receiver
front-ends for ESM systems
- Sonobuoy communications links
- Telemetry and radar development for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)
- Design of wideband, digitally synthesised, chirp generator for radar
applications
- Signal processing for various airborne radar applications
- Microwave and mm-wave subsystem developments
- Design and supply of a fibre optic communications system
More details on a selection of these programmes are provided below:
Unattended Ground Sensors (UGS)
Plextek has developed a powerful, but compact, autonomous processing and communications platform for Unattended Ground Sensors (UGS). Plextek’s client was developing an UGS that needed to acquire, store, process and transmit data from audio, video and other sensors. All of this functionality needed to be packaged in to a compact product, to operate from a battery, and be remotely deployable. Our solution (shown in the photograph to the right) utilised small COTS radio products together with a bespoke CPU system and a number of personality modules to provide specific interfaces for the sensors.
The UGS can make use of a wide range of sensors. Typical examples include microphone arrays (for direction finding), PIR sensors and video (optical and/or infrared). The communications link, for transmitting data from the remote UGS, makes use of 802.11a/b/g technology. This was chosen to provide the best balance of bandwidth, range, resilience to interference and channel blocking.
Sonobuoy Telemetry
Plextek were commissioned to design and implement a new UHF Sonobuoy
command receiver architecture. For the new design to be a good business
solution it needed to offer lower parts cost, improved performance and
greater ease of manufacture and test. To meet these objectives, Plextek
designed a single conversion superhet receiver based on a pager architecture,
which included the duplexer on the same PCB.
Other high cost components, such as the IF filter, were replaced with
low cost lumped element distributed networks.
Following this success, Plextek were asked to design a low cost analogue
transmitter. In response to this, a superhet transmitter was designed
around a dual synthesiser
solution intended for use in cellular telephone systems.
IFF Transponder
Many
IFF protocols have developed in an evolutionary manner and the traditional
approach to implementing these has been to add a new processing card
for each mode or set of modes. The processing card designed by Plextek
has the revolutionary approach of encompassing all the current requirements
into a single card using re-configurable techniques. (Right, IFF Transponder
pcb, developed by Plextek Ltd for Raytheon Systems Limited, photograph
by kind permission of Raytheon Systems Limited)
Due to the complexity of the requirements, it was decided that a flexible
platform implementation was required, to help minimise development time
and “design in” the capability to upgrade and modify the
equipment, as and when future requirements emerge. The appropriate use
of DSP, FPGA, FLASH memory
and CPLD technology avoided the need for expensive and potentially destructive
physical rework. In another development, a Plextek design is being qualified
for use in Hawk and Tornado fighter variants
Defence Products Available from Plextek.
Plextek has utilised the extensive defence electronics experience of
the company's engineers to undertake two internally funded product developments.
Both can be customised to meet a client's specific requirements and
both are available either as finished product or on a license to manufacture
basis:
- “Diablo” is a family of Digital
Receivers that feature a highly integrated, very high performance
DSP board and a variety of PMC modules for radar, radio and modem
applications. For more information Plextek's Diablo digital
receiver design click here.
- “Blighter” is a man portable, low power, low weight,
E-scan radar. The antenna is low cost, low profile and robust and
is an integral part of the radar assembly. A wireless link is provided
to allow the radar display to be viewed on one or more remote PDA's
or PC's. For more information on Plextek's Blighter E-Scan
Radar design click here.
To discuss how we can help you with your development requirements please
contact us
