Introduction
Textron (formerly AAI), a leading aerospace and defense company, required an advanced data recording solution to develop its Radio Frequency Scoring Tool (“RFST”). The RFST was designed to evaluate and score the performance of various RF environment simulator and stimulator systems, including Textron’s own A2PATS® product. The system aimed to test the performance of advanced electromagnetic spectrum operations (EMSO) platforms, including Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jet and related electronic warfare (EW) systems.
Textron needed a high-performance recording system capable of handling massive data streams from the ultra-wideband software-defined radios (SDRs) selected for incorporation in the RFST system design. Their challenge was finding a data loss-free, high-speed recorder that could work with any SDR product that used standard IEEE 802.3 Ethernet to transport proprietary and open digital RF formats such as VITA 49. Daqscribe provided its DDR HYPERION100, a commercially available 100-gigabit-per-second (Gb/s) recording solution, to meet Textron’s demanding requirements.
Challenge
Textron’s RFST project required a robust data recording system that could:
- Digitize and store massive amounts of Pulse Descriptor Words (PDWs) and In-phase/Quadrature (I-Q) data.
- Handle tens of gigabytes per second of streaming data without losing IP packets.
- Support multiple SDR products that may use any digital RF protocol over Ethernet.
- Allow real-time access to recorded data for near-instantaneous RF environment analysis and scoring.
Textron needed a solution to ingest streaming Ethernet packets from any commercial SDR product and store tens of terabytes of data reliably and efficiently for post-operation EMS analysis.
Solution:
Daqscribe’s DDR HYPERION100 Ethernet recorder platform
Textron partnered with Daqscribe due to its industry-leading expertise in high-speed data recording. The DDR HYPERION100 met and exceeded Textron’s needs with the following capabilities:
- 100 Gb/s Recording Performance: The system captured RF data at up to 12.5 gigabytes per second with “zero packet loss.”
- Layer-2 Ethernet Packet Capture: Unlike competing products, Daqscribe recorders can intercept TCP/UDP IP packets at the Layer-2 level, making them “protocol-agnostic” solutions.
- Dual QSFP28-to-Eight SFP+ Interfaces: Allowed multiple SDR units with separate data recording channels to store PDW and I-Q data stream pairs (PCAP file format), ensuring optimal organization and accessibility.
- Multi-User Access & Real-Time Visualization: The system enabled concurrent data access by multiple users and signal processing agents while continuing to record, allowing Textron’s RFST to deliver real-time spectrum visualization and scoring analysis.
Implementation & Benefits
Textron successfully deployed multiple DDR HYPERION100 systems within its RFST development framework. The key benefits realized included:
- Seamless RF Data Capture: Provided uninterrupted high-speed recording with zero packet loss.
- Broad Compatibility: Integrated effortlessly with various SDRs featuring Ethernet-based digital radio outputs.
- Enhanced Post-Processing: Enabled quick post-scenario analysis with structured and multi-accessible RF data storage, even while recording.
- Real-Time Scoring Capability: Allowed Textron’s end-customers to analyze RF environment simulations in near real-time.
- Scalability for Future Applications: Daqscribe’s technology ensures compatibility with future upgrades and SDR advancements.
Conclusion
Daqscribe’s DDR HYPERION100 played a pivotal role in Textron’s RFST development success by providing a robust, high-performance RF signal recording solution. With unmatched speed, reliability, and multi-format compatibility, the collaboration between Daqscribe and Textron underscores the importance of interoperable and high-performance data recording technologies in modern aerospace and defense systems.
