Spectrum congestion is a growing problem. It increasingly limits operational capabilities due to the increasing deployment and bandwidth of wireless communications, the use of net-centric and unmanned systems, and the need for increased flexibility in radar and communications spectrum to improve performance and to overcome sophisticated countermeasures.
Ongoing wireless revolution is fueling a voracious demand for access to the radio frequency (RF) spectrum around the world. In the civilian sector, consumer devices from smartphones to wearable fitness recorders to smart kitchen appliances are competing for bandwidth. Around 50 billion wireless devices are projected to be vying for access to mobile communications networks within the next few years and by 2030, the demand for wireless access could be 250 times what it is today. However, as the use of wireless technology proliferates, radios and communication devices often interfere with and disrupt other wireless devices.
Military spectrum requirements are also increasing exponentially. Military operations increasingly rely on access to the wireless spectrum in order to assess the tactical environment and coordinate and execute their critical missions. The demand for more and timely information at every echelon is driving an increase in DoD’s need for spectrum.“Increasingly lower echelons, including individual soldiers, require situational awareness information resulting in more spectrum-enabled network links.”
” Weapon testing stateside requires more bandwidth, as does a new generation of radars that now must detect smaller targets at longer ranges, said Frederick D. Moorefield Jr., director of spectrum policy and programs at the office of the Defense Department chief information officer. Also there is need for increased flexibility in radar and communications spectrum to improve performance and overcome sophisticated countermeasures.
However, spectrum is a finite resource and additionally DOD has to free up 500 MHz of the spectrum it has for commercial use by 2020 leading to scarcity of spectrum for DOD use.Managing this increasing demand, while combating what appears to be a looming scarcity of RF spectrum is a serious problem for our nation, both militarily and economically, says DARPA. This has resulted in complex Defense, spectrum management within and between the armed services, and any errors in the spectrum management plan may result in the denial of critical strategic and tactical links. The second is relatively easy for adversaries to target such a small part of the RF spectrum allocated exclusively to the government through jamming or electronic attack.
US DOD is now advancing new concept of spectrum sharing where disparate systems like communications, radar and electronic warfare will now be able to share the share the same spectrum because of emergence of recent technologies in radio communication. Until recently, spectrum allocation (i.e., a certain frequency band is assigned exclusively to a certain electromagnetic wave emit-ting technology like radar or wireless communications) was vital to prevent any interference among different systems. “Better spectrum management and spectrum efficiency improvements are necessary, but not sufficient — spectrum sharing required for increasing access,” said Steve Molina of DISA/DSO/Strategic Planning Division.
In 2013, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) set up a program named Shared Spectrum Access for Radar and Communications (SSPARC) to develop spectrum-sharing technologies between military
radars and military communication systems, which is considered as an effective way of improving the spectrum utilization. The radar bands are among at the best candidates to be shared with various communication systems due to the large chunks of spectrum available at radar frequencies.
Radar and communications jointly consume most of the highly desirable spectrum below 6 GHz. DARPA’s SSPARC seeks to develop sharing technology that enables sufficient spectrum access within this desirable range for radar and communications systems and improve radar and communications joint operational capabilities to accomplish their evolving missions. DARPA opened Phase 2 of its broad agency announcement for the Shared Spectrum Access for Radar and Communications (SSPARC) program
DARPA’s new proposal is in line with DOD’s Electromagnetic Spectrum Strategy 2013, which called for ensuring the access to the congested and contested electromagnetic environment of the future, by adopting new agile and opportunistic spectrum operations, and through systems which are more efficient, flexible and adaptable and adopting new technologies capable of more efficient use of the spectrum and reduced risk of interference. It also called for pursuing access to spectrum allocated for non-federal use and spectrum sharing technologies.
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