BAE Systems Australia Leverages Altium Designer for Advanced HF Radar Technology
Technology Category
- Networks & Connectivity - Ethernet
- Sensors - Autonomous Driving Sensors
Applicable Industries
- Electronics
- National Security & Defense
Applicable Functions
- Product Research & Development
Use Cases
- Theft Detection
- Time Sensitive Networking
Services
- System Integration
- Training
About The Customer
BAE Systems Australia is a leading global defence company that designs, manufactures, and supports a wide range of defence products, including military aircraft, surface ships, submarines, space systems, radar, avionics, electronic systems, and guided weapons. The company has key skills in engineering and systems integration and is a leading supplier of electronic warfare, communications, military air support, software, and support services to the Australian Defence Force. BAE Systems Force Awareness and Protection Unit designs, develops, integrates, and supports electronic warfare systems, ground-based mission support for Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C), High Frequency (HF) radar, weapon systems, and integrated autonomous systems.
The Challenge
Monitoring Australia’s vast northern coastline is a crucial part of the country's national security program. However, the enormous area involved presents the challenge of detecting objects beyond the horizon. The Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) Jindalee Over The Horizon Radar (OTHR) system, near Alice Springs in central Australia, overcomes the normal range limitations caused by the earth's curvature by bouncing signals off the ionosphere using a series of antennas that stretch over 3.4 kilometres. BAE Systems Australia, a leading global defence company, supports the ongoing development of the super-sensitive Jindalee radar with advanced receiver and signal processing systems that help to extend the capabilities of the ADF’s Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN). However, creating these systems requires BAE Systems to remain at the cutting edge of HF radar technology, including the development of RF and high-speed data processing systems. Typical HF projects require up to 10-layer FR4 boards that comply with strict performance goals in both the analog and digital domain, necessitating advanced tools and design systems for the successful development of the OTHR subsystems.
The Solution
The BAE Systems HF radar development group has been using Altium Designer for board development for around six years, progressing through an upgrade path to its current Altium Designer 6 licenses. The increase in features and performance of the design solution during this time has kept BAE Systems’ engineers at the forefront of board design technology and equipped them with the capabilities needed to develop the highly sophisticated board designs required to enhance the OTHR system. Altium Designer’s unified board-level design capabilities, such as powerful Signal Integrity analysis, differential pair support, and automated FPGA pin optimization, have improved project time frames while ensuring that designs perform as expected early in the development cycle. In an environment where cutting-edge performance is a core design criteria, Altium Designer’s unified design solution provides BAE Systems with the sophisticated board development capabilities required to meet its goals.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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