Northrop Grumman Corp. has been awarded an $11.9 million contract to build and demonstrate a wideband digital antenna technology for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency‘s radio frequency sensors.
The company will work with Semtech and Systems & Technology Research to design a reusable digital common module under the first phase of the Arrays on Commercial Timescales program, Northrop said Wednesday.
DARPA wants the common module and complementary metal oxide semiconductor integrated circuit technology to reduce costs of developing and producing future digital arrays.
“Our wideband digital common module design is a breakthrough in AESA capability, enabled by the application of commercial system-on-chip technology with integrated high speed data converters that enable direct RF sampling,” said William Phillips, director of advanced technology within Northro’s electronic systems sector.