The Air Force is searching for a roadmap for new electronic warfare receivers.
A request for information released by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) asks for "information needed to develop a near to mid-term (present-2025) technology roadmap including required investment funding to advance the state of practice of EW receiver technology and architecture to address modern and future radar agile threat waveforms."
The Air Force has become concerned about the ability of its current EW receivers to keep up with advancements in radar waveform agility and the "complex electromagnetic operating environment that are part of the modern battlefield," according to the RFI. New threats include the Active Electronically Scanning Array, variable pulse widths, and the radio confusion that comes from operating in multi-signal or dense radio-frequency environments.
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AFRL wants EW receivers capable of sorting and identifying "increasingly ambiguous waveforms," faster system architectures and more sensitive receivers. Responses to the RFI are due by Jan. 23.
