N252-D11 TITLE: DIRECT TO PHASE II: Advanced Interference Mitigation (AIM) Techniques

OUSD (R&E) CRITICAL TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Integrated Network Systems-of-Systems; Integrated Sensing and Cyber; Space Technology

The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with the Announcement. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws.

OBJECTIVE: Develop and demonstrate innovative receive-side sensitivity enhancements that improve signal acquisition, noise suppression, and interference mitigation for Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS) terminals. This effort focuses on maximizing receiver performance independent of transmission power, leveraging advanced adaptive filtering, diversity techniques, and low-noise reception strategies to ensure reliable communication in contested and degraded environments. Solutions must be Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)-compatible, maintain low latency (=10µs), and integrate seamlessly into existing MIDS systems without degrading performance.

DESCRIPTION: The MIDS Program Office (MPO) is responsible for advancing tactical data link (TDL) communications, including Link-16 and Tactical Targeting Network Technology (TTNT). As modern battlefields become increasingly congested with electromagnetic interference, adversarial jamming, and spectrum competition, the ability to maintain a high-sensitivity, interference-resistant reception is critical to mission success.

This effort focuses on achieving significant sensitivity gains, enhancing the receiving capability of MIDS terminals by separating and improving the receive-side performance independent of transmitter-based enhancements. Current limitations in receiver sensitivity restrict the ability to capture and process weak signals, particularly in contested environments where interference mitigation and adaptability are crucial.

To address this, the Navy is seeking innovative solutions that integrate:

• Advanced signal processing for adaptive filtering and interference suppression
• Optimized low-noise reception to amplify weak signals while minimizing distortion
• Novel antenna configurations that enhance signal gain through spatial, frequency, or polarization techniques

These enhancements will fundamentally improve the resilience and efficiency of MIDS terminals, enabling more robust signal acquisition and improved signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) under degraded conditions. Unlike traditional solutions that focus on boosting transmission power, this effort is uniquely centered on maximizing the effectiveness of the receiver itself, ensuring clear, uninterrupted reception even in challenging operational environments.

The Navy seeks mature solutions (Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 5 or higher) that can be implemented in FPGA architectures, allowing for real-time adaptation and rapid deployment. Proposed solutions should be capable of:

• Demonstrating =10dB improvement in receive sensitivity
• Maintaining low-latency processing (=10µs) for real-time applications
• Efficiently utilizing FPGA resources (=10% overhead)
• Ensuring compatibility with existing MIDS systems without degradation of performance

Of particular interest are adaptive diversity techniques, such as maximal ratio combining (MRC), spatial diversity, and multi-path fading mitigation, which can independently improve receive performance in highly dynamic environments. These innovations will provide a separate and robust receive-side enhancement, ensuring a more resilient and high-sensitivity reception capability for tactical data links.

The successful transition of these technologies will provide independent, receiver-focused improvements that support long-range, interference-resistant communication. This SBIR topic seeks vendors who have already demonstrated initial feasibility and validation of sensitivity enhancement techniques, with the goal of integrating these advancements into the MIDS terminal for operational deployment.

Work produced in Phase II may become classified . Note: The prospective contractor(s) must be U.S. owned and operated with no foreign influence as defined by 32 U.S.C. § 2004.20 et seq., National Industrial Security Program Executive Agent and Operating Manual, unless acceptable mitigating procedures can and have been implemented and approved by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) formerly Defense Security Service (DSS). The selected contractor must be able to acquire and maintain a secret level facility and Personnel Security Clearances. This will allow contractor personnel to perform on advanced phases of this project as set forth by DCSA and NAVWAR in order to gain access to classified information pertaining to the national defense of the United States and its allies; this will be an inherent requirement. The selected company will be required to safeguard classified material during the advanced phases of this contract IAW the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM), which can be found at Title 32, Part 2004.20 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

PHASE I: Feasibility documentation MUST NOT be solely based on work performed under prior or ongoing federally funded SBIR/STTR work. Demonstrating proof of feasibility is a requirement for a Direct to Phase II award.

For this Direct to Phase II topic, the Government expects that the small business would have accomplished the following in a Phase I-type effort:

• Assessed the feasibility of developing, integrating, and demonstrating diversity gain and interference mitigation techniques. Their prior work should include theoretical analysis, simulation studies, and experimental validation, as well as feasibility assessments and identification of key challenges.
• Conducted a survey of existing algorithms and established baseline figures of merit for selecting algorithms implementable in a FPGA.
• Developed simulations to quantify improvements in SNR or signal reliability achieved through diversity techniques, specifying the additional SNR gained under defined channel conditions.

FEASIBILITY DOCUMENTATION: Offerors interested in proposing to this Direct to Phase II topic must include in their response Phase I feasibility documentation that substantiates the scientific and technical merit; proof that Phase I feasibility (described in Phase I above) has been met (i.e., the small business must have performed Phase I-type research and development related to the topic, but feasibility documentation must not be solely based on work performed under prior or ongoing federally funded SBIR/STTR work.); and describe the potential commercialization applications. The documentation provided must validate that the proposer has completed Phase I-type development of technology as stated above. Documentation should include all relevant information including, but not limited to: technical reports, test data, prototype designs/models, and performance goals/results. Work submitted within the feasibility documentation must have been substantially performed by the offeror and/or the principal investigator (PI).

PHASE II: The contract type for topic N252-D11 will be Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee.

The selected small business will design, develop, and prototype receive-side sensitivity enhancements aimed at improving the signal acquisition and interference mitigation capabilities of MIDS terminals. The primary focus is to implement and validate high-sensitivity reception techniques that operate independently of transmitter-based improvements, ensuring more reliable communications in contested and degraded operational environments:

1. Algorithm Development & FPGA Integration:

• Design, develop, and implement advanced signal processing algorithms for adaptive filtering, diversity gain, and low-noise reception.
• Ensure that algorithms can be efficiently integrated into a FPGA-based architecture with minimal processing overhead (=10% FPGA resource utilization).
• Maintain low latency (=10µs) to support real-time tactical applications.

1. Prototype Development & SDR Testing:

• Develop a software prototype implementing the proposed sensitivity enhancement techniques for evaluation.
• Conduct initial software-in-the-loop (SIL) simulations to assess the performance of new receiver algorithms in varied signal environments, including high-interference scenarios.
• Transition from software testing to hardware implementation by integrating the algorithms into an SDR-based prototype.

1. Performance Validation & Testing:

• Evaluate the prototype’s ability to achieve a =10 dB improvement in receive sensitivity through controlled laboratory testing and simulation.
• Validate algorithm performance against real-world modulations and emulated threat signal sets, assessing:
• SNR improvements
• Interference suppression and adversarial jamming resilience
• Long-range reception capability
• Perform extensive testing to ensure that the receive enhancements do not degrade link integrity or negatively impact existing MIDS system performance.
• Government may provide threat signal data for additional testing and may also conduct independent verification at a Government facility.

1. Prototype Hardware Demonstration:

• Implement and test the prototype within a MIDS Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) laboratory environment.
• Assess integration feasibility with existing MIDS terminals, ensuring modular, scalable deployment without adverse effects on system operations.
• Evaluate final FPGA resource utilization, latency, and computational efficiency to ensure compliance with Navy requirements.

1. Phase III Transition Planning:

• Develop a detailed technology transition and commercialization strategy for Phase III implementation.
• Engage with MIDS prime vendors and key stakeholders to ensure seamless integration into operational systems.
• Identify any additional system modifications or optimizations needed for full deployment within Navy platforms.

It is probable that the work under this effort will be classified under Phase II (see Description section for details).

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Transition the developed technology for Navy deployment:

1. Refine and validate final algorithms for full-scale implementation.
2. Ensure compliance with Information Assurance (IA) standards for Navy systems.
3. Support SDR integration and full mission capability testing.
4. Provide comprehensive training and documentation for seamless transition.
5. Partnership with MIDS prime vendors is encouraged to support final production and deployment.

Advanced interference mitigation techniques have applications beyond military systems, including:

• 5G/6G wireless communications
• Satellite and deep-space communications
• Secure networking in high-interference commercial environments

REFERENCES:

1. D. Wang, J. Wang, X. You, Y. Wang, M. Chen, and X. Hou, "Spectral efficiency of distributed MIMO systems," IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, vol. 31, no. 10, pp. 2112–2127, 2013. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7564722
2. S. Sedighi and E. Ayanoglu, "Bit-interleaved coded multiple beamforming in millimeter-wave massive MIMO systems," IEEE Transactions on Communications, vol. 68, no. 10, pp. 6174–6185, 2020. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9133524
3. D. Yu, S. Xu, and H. H. Nguyen, "Diversity gain of millimeter-wave massive MIMO systems with distributed antenna arrays," EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking, vol. 54, pp. 1–13, 2019. https://jwcn-eurasipjournals.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s13638-019-1366-8

KEYWORDS: Receive sensitivity; diversity gain; beamforming; Multiple Input Multiple Output; MIMO

TPOC 1: David Gerda
[email protected]

TPOC 2: Maulin Patel
[email protected]

TPOC 3: Elaine Stowell
[email protected]

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