“Revolutionizing Tech: From Mini-Fridge to Quarter-Sized Marvels at BAE Systems”

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has granted a $17.5 million contract to BAE Systems’ FAST Labs™ research and development division for the Generating RF with Photonic Oscillators for Low Noise (GRYPHON) initiative. This cutting-edge technology produced through the initiative has the potential to facilitate an unparalleled blend of minimal noise, compact dimensions, and frequency flexibility for next-generation aerial sensing and communication capabilities.

Electronic oscillators form the cornerstone technology powering nearly all microelectronic systems. Presently, optimal performance necessitates large, energy-demanding systems comparable in size to a mini-refrigerator. BAE Systems’ strategy aims to sustain or enhance performance while scaling down the system to the size of a quarter.

BAE Systems’ revolutionary solution merges the effectiveness and adaptability of digital electronics with the bandwidth and stability of photonics to supply high-precision microwave sources in an exceptionally compact form factor. This significantly enhances size, weight, power, and overall cost, enabling this next-generation, mission-critical technology to be utilized on more diminutive platforms and opening up a new category of systems.

“Innovative science, concepts, and methods permit remarkable technological breakthroughs,” expressed Chris Rappa, chief technologist at BAE Systems’ FAST Labs. “The GRYPHON initiative exemplifies the implementation of novel ideas, such as the integration of photonics and digital electronics, to achieve significant advancements.”

Efforts on the initiative, which is part of BAE Systems’ advanced electronics portfolio, include cooperation with subcontractor GenXComm. GenXComm is leading the development of the photonics subsystem for BAE Systems’ endeavors on the GRYPHON initiative and focuses on creating state-of-the-art microphotonics for RF signal processing, facilitating high throughput, ultra-low latency, and interference-free wireless mesh networks. GenXComm was introduced to FAST Labs through the Technology Scouting division of the organization. This team champions the company’s mission to collaborate with startups, educational institutions, and others in the innovation ecosystem to harness new technologies that bear commercial and defense significance while swiftly delivering distinctive solutions.