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The demand for use of the electromagnetic spectrum is ever-increasing because of its ability to stimulate US innovation and economic growth and its promise to assure US military superiority. The National Spectrum Consortium (NSC) is the nation’s premier collaboration working to identify and develop technologies that will broaden military and commercial access to the spectrum. The NSC is pleased to announce the first of a series of awards that will develop and demonstrate the enabling technology necessary to satisfy that growing demand for use of the electromagnetic spectrum.

The awards are entered into under the Section 815 Prototype Other Transaction Agreement (OT) with U.S. Army Contracting Command-New Jersey (ACC-NJ). ACC-NJ, acting on behalf of The Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Emerging Capabilities and Prototyping (ODASD, EC&P).

The project agreements, totaling over $15 Million in awarded ceiling, are with IJK Controls, LLC for Automated Tactical Optical Line-of-Sight Links (ATOLL) Phase 1 Task 1; TrellisWare Technologies, Inc. for ATOLL Phase 1 Task 2; and Southwest Research Institute® (SwRI®) for an Advanced Electronic Warfare Laboratory. The overall goal is to prototype a robust and reliable optical communication technology that uses lasers in free space to wirelessly transmit data for telecommunications or computer networking. The Advanced Electronic Warfare Laboratory (AEWL) project will develop a prototype laboratory capable of evaluating emerging Electronic Warfare (EW) subsystem and system prototypes in a realistic congested and contested electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) environment, while emulating multiple advanced and emerging radar systems and targets.

About Prototype Other Transaction Agreements and the National Spectrum Consortium:

Other Transaction Agreements relieve some of the contractual burdens typically associated with federally-funded research, allowing the government to acquire new technology and prototypes more quickly. A major benefit of OTAs is an emphasis on participation by non-traditional government contractors – small and emerging organizations that can deliver cutting-edge innovation but lack the contracting resources and experience typically required to conduct technology development for the U.S. government.

For more information about the National Spectrum consortium, visit nationalspectrumconsortium.org.

Published On: September 20th, 2016Categories: NewsTags: ,