Raytheon (a large US defense and military technology corporation) is developing a new software-controlled radar technology for the US Navy to increase multitasking capabilities and adapt to increasingly complex electromagnetic spectrum environments.
Raytheon will build software that allows processing each radar component as independent elements. Thanks to that, a single radar system can simultaneously perform many different tasks instead of just focusing on a single function.
The new technology is designed to support activities such as target tracking, surveillance and simultaneous combat situation management.
This is considered an important step forward in the context that the US military needs more flexible systems to cope with the modern electronic warfare environment.
One of the notable points of the project is the ability to automatically adjust radar emission to operate effectively in a dense frequency spectrum environment.
This includes the ability to coexist with commercial 5G networks without significant interference.
Mr. Colin Whelan, Chairman of Advanced Technology at Raytheon, said that the number of devices using electromagnetic spectrum is increasing sharply, making the signal environment overloaded and more complex, forcing military systems to operate more intelligently and flexibly to avoid interfering.
According to Mr. Colin Whelan, software-based emission control technology will help radar accurately locate and transmit signals, thereby better meeting the changing task requirements.
The project also reflects the trend of transition from fixed hardware systems to a more flexible modular architecture. Instead of completely relying on physical configuration, the new software allows operators to quickly adjust radar performance according to each actual situation.
Raytheon said this approach could help reduce operating costs, shorten system upgrade time and limit technical risks during deployment.
After completing the development phase, the company plans to conduct actual tests to assess the system's multitasking capability in different combat scenarios.
If expected results are achieved, this technology can be integrated into the US active naval radar systems in the future.
