ADEP™-800/1 DRFM Jammers Delivered to U.S. Army by Systems & Processes Engineering Corp (SPEC)

PR Log (Press Release) – Jul 29, 2009 – AUSTIN, TEXAS --- Systems & Processes Engineering Corporation (SPEC) has recently delivered its first block of Agile Digital Effects Processor (ADEP™)-based Digital RF Memory (DRFM) Jammer flight units to the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL)/ Survivability Lethality Analysis Directorate (SLAD) at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), NM.

After acceptance testing, the U.S. Army will conduct numerous flight tests with the ADEP™-800/1 DRFM-based jammers to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of U.S. air and missile defense systems in operationally realistic and demanding scenarios.

“ADEP™-800/1 is a state-of-the-art, low-cost flight unit  that is modular, platform or pod mounted and highly programmable. It is 3” x 4.5” x 9.7” in size, weighs just 3.4 pounds, and exceeds the performance of much larger, heavier and costlier systems,” according to Keith Kunz, SPEC’s Electronic Warfare Systems Chief Engineer. “These ADEP™-800/1 units will significantly improve the fidelity and realism of the airborne targets  used to test U.S. Army air and missile defense radars.”

“The delivery of these initial ADEP™ 800/1 flight units is a significant first step toward SPEC's  fielding of a family of airborne ADEP™-based systems, providing DoD customers a range of performance options,” said Ronda Foster, SPEC’s vice president of Electronic Warfare Systems. “SPEC will deliver two more unique ADEP™ airborne variants this year, each tailored to customer-specific needs. And, as test data validates performance predictions, we expect future versions of ADEP™ to be used in electronic attack, electronic protection and electronic support missions in air, land, sea and space applications.”

"This ADEP™ 800/1 delivery means the U.S. warfighter is one step closer to benefiting from the outstanding capabilities and cost savings they bring to the weapon system development tool kit," said Randy Noster, SPEC’s founder, President and CEO. "Feedback from multiple customers indicates that our ADEP™ architecture is a major technology breakthrough, with unique high-performance features in an affordable, small-size and low-weight/power package -- applicable to both RF system testing and operational weapon systems."

The ADEP™-800/1 was developed, in part, under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract with the U.S. Army Research Laboratory. In addition to the three tactical variants currently in development, SPEC has also delivered an initial ground-based ADEP™ system to the Naval Research Laboratory, for use as a coherent target generator, and has two other ground-based variants in development for the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force and Missile Defense Agency (MDA).

SPEC’s ADEP™ technology enables precise digital generation of RF signals, waveforms and images, without the typical artifacts and inaccuracies found in more traditional DRFMs. Unlike competing systems based on traditional DRFM architectures, ADEP™ readily generates such challenging digital effects as accurately-represented multiple crossing targets, extended range and SAR images, and frequency-compensated Doppler for wideband chirps and other complex waveforms. Ultra-wide instantaneous bandwidths, low spurious signals and excellent gain flatness all enable the high-fidelity generation of multiple, complex targets, with individually programmable delay, Doppler, phase and amplitude modulations for countering multiple simultaneous threat radars.

Systems & Processes Engineering Corp (SPEC) is a veteran-owned small business and an innovative technology leader specializing in aerospace, defense, homeland security and related global markets. With innovations spanning 23 years, SPEC provides state-of-the-art electronic warfare (EW), airborne solid state data recorders, laser-based miniature sensors (LADARs) for multiple applications, RFID/logistic systems and services, and other capabilities. With headquarters and engineering facilities in Austin, Texas, SPEC employs 40 people nationally.