CAES’s converter is reportedly the first to combine the company’s engineering and 3U board with Intel’s flexible and scalable RF-Series FPGA.
ARLINGTON, Va.—A new direct-to-digital RF converter from CAES is designed to optimally meet the bandwidth and form factor requirements of radar, electronic warfare, and C4ISR mission applications, the company said in a release.
CAES provides advanced RF technology to the United States aerospace and defense industry. The company describes itself as a “pioneer of advanced electronics for the most challenging defense and aerospace trusted systems.” Its services include manufacturing and testing, design customization, and advanced algorithm development.
The CAES TORNADO converter is the latest in CAES’s investment in direct RF sampling architectures. It has 8x transmit and 8x receive channels paired with the Intel Agilex® 9 FPGA Direct RF Series in a 3U, SOSA-aligned configuration, according to the release.
“We are excited to team up with Intel to bring our customers next-generation, direct-to-digital solutions,” said CAES Chief Operating Officer Dave Young, in the release. “There is a growing demand for radar and EW systems that are highly flexible and programmable. The TORNADO converter was designed with these requirements in mind.”
CAES is providing early access to design a product based on Intel’s advanced technology. The CAES TORNADO converter is reportedly the first product of its kind to combine CAES’s engineering and 3U board with Intel’s flexible and scalable RF-Series FPGA.
“Intel Agilex 9 Direct RF FPGAs offer a revolutionary step toward delivering and supporting capabilities critical for EW processing, enabling partners like CAES to develop boards for rapid deployment within the DIB (Defense Industrial Base) to advance EW systems,” said John Sotir, senior director of the Military, Aerospace, and Government Business Unit, Intel Programmable Solutions Group (PSG), in a statement. “The CAES TORNADO converter is an example of a collaborative effort to bring to market this state-of-the-art technology.”
The Intel Agilex 9 FPGA Direct RF-Series is described as highly integrated, combining an FPGA and an RF transceiver in a single package. The integrated RF transceivers provide high-speed connectivity and support a broad range of frequencies. Additionally, the FPGA fabric allows for dynamic reconfiguration, enabling the device to support a variety of missions.
The CAES TORNADO converter is expected to be ready for delivery in 2024.
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