FALLS CHURCH, Va., Sept. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Raytheon Company
(NYSE: RTN) has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Air Force Research
Laboratory (AFRL), Rome, N.Y., for continued research and development of the
next generation wireless technology for the Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency (DARPA) Next Generation Wireless (XG) Communications program.
The XG program will develop the systems approach and key technologies for
dynamic spectrum utilization in communications and sensor systems. The Phase
2 contract, valued at $4 million, involves system and technique development
and integration, with significant modeling and simulation of spectrum sharing
in XG systems. Work will be performed at the Raytheon facility in Falls
Church, Va.
Raytheon will demonstrate achievable spectral efficiency improvements by
June 2004, with a goal of 10-to-20-times today's spectrum utilization. A
follow-on Phase 3 program to perform field demonstrations will validate the
technology in realistic conditions and will set the stage for transition of XG
technologies to the military services and potentially to commercial
applications.
"With XG, we will have a generic wireless Internet that can be accessed
simply by turning on a radio or communications device," said Preston Marshall,
program manager for DARPA.
XG will enable revolutionary improvements in the efficient use of the
electromagnetic spectrum. Raytheon will provide a set of spectrum access
Cognitive Radio algorithms and protocols, integrated into an XG demonstration
system. It will include an XG Adaptation Layer (XAL), for insertion into
existing and future military radios such as those being developed under the
Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) specifications. Raytheon will also
continue development of a heteromorphic waveform able to quickly adapt its
parameters and characteristics to the electromagnetic spectrum environment.
"With today's spectrum allocation regulations and technology, military and
commercial users are experiencing poor quality communications, dropped calls,
and limited access to wireless communications," said Bob Breinig, Raytheon XG
program manager. "Raytheon's XG system and technology will enable immediate
access to spectrum, providing high-quality voice, image, and data and video
services on-demand to military and commercial markets. The vision of a fully
functional wireless Internet has been articulated widely and often by many
others, but DARPA's XG program provides the innovative thrust that will
actually make it happen."
According to Dr. Robert Berezdivin, director of Advanced Systems
Development for Raytheon, the XG technologies will take wireless from its
current spectrum availability limitations to one where only the imagination of
the application developers is the limit. "XG will provide the enabling
mechanism for robust wireless communications required by the military's
network centric warfare concepts and for evolution to commercial 4th
Generation wireless communications," said Berezdivin.
Raytheon's Advanced Programs business unit has developed prototypes of
many advanced wireless communications technologies for DARPA and other
research and development agencies including Raytheon's UltraComm software-
defined wideband radio, an adaptive vector OFDM waveform, Future Combat
Systems Communications, Digital Video Broadcast Server, and special-purpose
military communications and intelligence systems.
Raytheon Company, with 2002 sales of $16.8 billion, is an industry leader
in defense, government and commercial electronics, space, information
technology, technical services, and business and special mission aircraft.
With headquarters in Lexington, Mass., Raytheon employs more than 76,000
people worldwide.
Darci Bushey
Raytheon Company
703.849.1568
SOURCE Raytheon Company
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Related links:
http://www.raytheon.com
CONTACT:
Darci Bushey of Raytheon Company,
+1-703-849-1568
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