SBIR-STTR Award

A new cognitive fully adaptive radar (CoFAR) architecture is developed that optimizes every major real-time radar function including the scheduler/controller, waveform generator, transmitter, and receiver in a closed loop fashion. The need for such an adaptive and flexible architecture is driven by the ever increasingly challenging military radar environment that includes operation against elusive and fleeting targets embedded in extremely complex clutter (e.g., urban terrain), dense multitarget scenarios, and significant intentional (e.g., electronic attack (EA)) and unintentional electromagnetic interference. The CoFAR architecture incorporates fully adaptive multidimensional channel dependent waveforms, multi-objective and adaptive resource allocation, control, and scheduling, as well as knowledge-aided (KA) and model based adaptation and expert reasoning. The CoFAR architecture is also applicable to both monostatic and distributed sensing applications with heterogeneous multiplatform resources. An integral part of this project is the development of a high fidelity CoFAR modeling and simulation capability that is based on a highly successful environment developed over the past 20 years and utilized by such programs as the DARPA/AFRL KASSPER project. The CoFAR simulation environment will provide accurate assessments of realistic performance gains relative to conventional (non-FAR) radar without the need for extensive and costly flight tests and experiments.

Benefit:
The CoFAR architecture developed in this project will result in a new radar architecture ideally suited to meet the challenges of an ever increasingly complex RF environment. The architecture will amenable to real-time operation in both monostatic and distributed sensing applications with heterogeneous resources. In addition to meeting the challenges of emerging military radar environments, the CoFAR approach is ideal for addressing the commercial radar challenges associated with operating in a crowded RF spectrum.

This research is focused on developing a new cognitive fully adaptive radar (CoFAR) architecture that features full adaptivity in both the trasnmit and receive functions, as well as in higher level scheduler and controller functions. Cognition is achieved via a knowledge-aided (KA) supervised sense-learn-adapt (SLA) inference engine employing expert systems and model based reasoning. CoFAR is being applied to very challenging clutter cancellation and advanced electronic protection (EP).

Benefit:
Moder military radars are facing ever increasingly more challenging operating environments from fleeting and elsuive targets embedded in complex backgrounds, to advanced electronic attack (EA). CoFAR is designed to meet and overcome these challenges by having embedded real-time cognitive capabilties.