AOI 27-A001 Resilient Airborne Free-Space Optical Communications Turret

Description

The advent of high-threat Electronic Warfare (EW) and Global Positioning System (GPS) or Radio Frequency (RF)-denied operational domains poses an immediate risk to Department of Navy (DoN), Marine Corps, and joint aerial and maritime fleet operations. Modern tactical concepts—such as Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO) and Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2)—demand ultra-high-bandwidth communications and high-precision timing synchronization across dynamic, multi-domain nodes without reliance on vulnerable RF spectra or satellite navigation. Precision optical clock synchronization and free-space optical communications (FSOC) offer timing holdover improvements and superior timing synchronization in GPS-denied environments, and high-speed low-probability-of-intercept/lowprobability-of-detection communication links. However, transitioning optical time transfer and FSOC from benign ground laboratories to highdynamic flight environments presents severe aero-optical and mechanical barriers. Dynamic aircraft boundary layers, trans-sonic shock structures, aero-optical phase aberrations, basemotion jitter, and stringent airframe size, weight, power (SWaP), and aerodynamic drag constraints disrupt beam coherence and line-of-sight tracking. Furthermore, existing commercial optical gimbals lack the structural airworthiness certifications, thermal/pressure shock resilience, fine pointing, acquisition, and tracking/PAT (PAT) closed-loop rejection required for host aircraft integration. NIWC Atlantic seeks to prototype and demonstrate a flight-certified, aero-optically resilient dual-turret optical communications and optical time-transfer system operable across ground, littoral, and multi-altitude airborne regimes.

Classification

NAICS

541715

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)

54├Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

541├Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

5417├Scientific Research and Development Services

54171├Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences

541715└Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)

PSC

AC13

NATIONAL DEFENSE R&D SERVICES; DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE - MILITARY; EXPERIMENTAL DEVELOPMENT

A├RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

AC├C â€“ National Defense R&D Services

AC13└NATIONAL DEFENSE R&D SERVICES; DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE - MILITARY; EXPERIMENTAL DEVELOPMENT

Set-aside

No Set aside used

Description

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Classification

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