A BAE Systems research and development team secured an $8M contract to build mixed-mode signal processing technology under a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program to deploy next-generation radio frequency platforms and drive U.S.-based defense electronics manufacturing efforts.
BAE said Tuesday its FAST Labs group will combine processing features for analog and digital signals into to produce a wafer-scale chip as part of DARPA’s Technologies for Mixed mode Ultra Scaled Integrated Circuits initiative.
The silicon-based platform’s mixed-signal RF processing features are intended to support electronic sensor integration for applications such as electronic warfare, precision munitions, radar functionalities, communications and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in congested environments.
Chris Rappa, product line director for RF, EW and advanced electronics at FAST Labs, said the team will work to develop advanced electronics that will serve as the foundation for the Department of Defense’s future high-capacity communications and RF sensor equipment.
Contract work will take place at BAE’s facilities located in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Virginia.
The company previously developed RF electronics under other programs managed by DARPA, the Air Force Research Lab and the U.S. Army.
