Penn State to Develop Next Generation Navy Radars, Sensors

Penn State University Electro-Optics Center in Freeport, Pa., received an $11.5 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to provide research, design, development, and delivery of sub-systems for the U.S. Navy’s next-generation radars and Common Data Sensor Architecture (CDSA) program to support Integrated Warfare Systems 2 (IWS 2). The CDSA is a centralized system for collecting input information from a variety of sensors and providing information from 1 group of sensors to another. DID has more on the CDSA program… Two technologies are fundamental for the CDSA to transition to producible, fielded systems: high voltage/ high power switching devices based on halide chemical vapor deposition, and wavelength division multiplexing. Requirements include prototype sub-systems for the next-generation radar; research into transmit receive module technology; developing optical radar methodologies; analysis of air defense radar including: jamming, radio frequency (RF) transmitting vs. receiving; research for RF propagation, high powered testing, deep level transient spectroscopy and secondary ion mass spectroscopy. Penn State will performed work at Freeport, PA (80%) and State College, PA (20%), which it expects to complete in June 2011. The Crane Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center in Crane, IN manages the contract (N00164-09-C-GR34).