27www.contracts.mod.uk :: Vol 14 No 23 :: 30 November 2016 :: MOD DCB

F E A T U R E

26 MOD DCB :: 30 November 2016 :: Vol 14 No 23 :: www.contracts.mod.uk

ounded in 1989, Plextek is an electronicsconsultancy that specialises in creating solutions toovercome complex engineering challenges. Sinceits early days the company has gained a foothold

in a range of sectors including healthcare, smart sensors,security and defence.

Plextek’s Defence Business Manager, Peter Doig,explained: “Plextek has had relationships with a smallnumber of leading defence companies for about twodecades, becoming a highly trusted technology supplier. Inrecent years we have been expanding our researchsignificantly into securing business directly withgovernment via the Ministry of Defence and the DefenceScience and Technology Laboratory (Dstl).”

Recently Plextek collaborated with Dstl on a low Size,Weight, Power and Cost (SWaPC) non-line-of-sightcommunications system for Small Unmanned AirSystems (SUAS) via the Autonomous SystemsUnderpinning Research (ASUR) programme. The systemoperates at 60 GHz, where the radio frequencywavelength is 5 mm.

Launched in 2013, the £10 million ASUR programme isdue to run until 2017 researching, developing anddeploying intelligent unmanned systems into the UKArmed Forces.

Mr Doig commented: “At the moment Plextek isdeveloping two SUAS-related projects in conjunction withDstl on the ASUR programme. Both projects are leveragingmillimetre wave (mm-wave) consumer electronics – the first,developing a high bandwidth, robust data link to provide

non-line-of-sight, covert communications to SUAS to enable,for example, streaming of high-definition video to a soldierin a complex urban environment.

“The second project uses the same underlying technologyto develop an mm-wave micro-radar as a day/night, all-weather sense-and-avoid imaging sensor. This project aims toenable an SUAS to autonomously travel down an urbancanyon or into a building, interpreting the world in real time.”

These projects will be suitable for both a mini and a microSUAS, and potentially Nano Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Theywork by enabling technology for a 60 GHz radio frequency(RF) data link between an operator and an SUAS.

60 GHz is strongly reflected by most surfaces and ableto penetrate deeply into a building, essentially followingthe same route as an SUAS which has infiltrated thebuilding. 60 GHz transmission is also inherently covertbecause the oxygen absorption line at this frequencyreduces the scope for detection at longer ranges.

The 60 GHz RF data link will be enabled by a single-chip solution based on silicon-germanium technology,addressing both mm-wave RF and baseband modemrequirements.

These solutions are low cost, relatively low powerconsumption and light in weight. The modemtechnology Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing(OFDM) is well suited to difficult propagation conditionssuch as indoor channels with many multipath elements,and offers a high data throughput suitable for videotransmission.

To enable data transmission the SUAS needs a suitable

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antenna solution, something which thecommunications project has demonstrated. Itis necessary to achieve significant antennagain at both ends of the link in order to meetthe requirements of the link budget. Thismeans utilising a narrow (highly directional)beam, and for the mobile SUAS application,with antennas constantly optimising beam-direction. Plextek is currently working withDstl to develop and demonstrate a low (SWaP)micro-radar solution.

Once fully developed, the SUAS technologyalso has the potential to be migrated intoother unmanned air systems, unmannedground vehicles and even dismounted soldierequipment.

Mr Doig explained: “Dismounted soldiers arealways looking for greater situationalawareness; Plextek’s mm-wave data link willenable HD video to be streamed betweensoldiers, while the micro-radar will allow them toexpand the understanding of theirsurroundings.”

While physically developing technology forunmanned solutions, Plextek has alsotheoretically debated the issue in a papertitled ‘Are the Days of the Soldier Numbered?’

Mr Doig said: “This paper discusses thechanging battlefield environment, having movedfrom the desert warfare of the 1990s back intourban warfare. Within this environment, we arelooking at how unmanned systems andautonomous systems can provide soldiers withremote information and make their work moreefficient.”

He added: “Despite the title of the paper, itsfindings suggest that soldiers in the field willalways be needed for interacting with localpopulations and judging risk. The paper alsodiscusses the various unmanned systemregulations, such as those within the GenevaConvention, which stop an autonomous systemfrom being able to make decisions such aswhether or not to engage with a threat.”

The paper is now available via Plextek’swebsite and the company is seeking feedbackfrom both defence industry stakeholders andacademics.

Engagement with academia is, Mr Doigstressed, important to all defencemanufacturers. As well as buildingrelationships, academic partnerships help

defence manufacturers accelerate theirproduct through the research anddevelopment cycle.

He expanded: “The last couple of years haveseen a shift in defence research spend patternstoward more disruptive technology research;this can lead to greater rewards but can be adifficult medium for which to write a compelling

proposition. One of the factors the MOD looksfor in business proposals is commercialexploitation, and it can be difficult to findcommercial exploitation partners for high-riskprojects.

Mr Doig continued: “To overcome theseobstacles suppliers should look to engage withacademia and Dstl direct. For example, Dstl hasresearch engagement with UK universities thatsmall and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) canuse to their advantage to secure defencefunding.”

Once through the door of the defencemarketplace suppliers must then find extrafunds to see their project through tocompletion – or perish in the proverbial ‘valleyof death’ that so often separates the researchstage from the development stage.

Mr Doig said: “A lot of the time when bringingcommercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology intoa defence environment it can quickly reach ahigh technology readiness level; however, from asystem readiness perspective, it can still require alot of work. The MOD is unable to fund all of thedevelopment work required, so OriginalEquipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and SystemIntegrators need to pull on this research andhelp develop it further.”

As a Tier 1 (a company that is directlycontracted by an OEM), Plextek itself is able to

help smaller companies into the defencemarketplace.

Mr Doig recalled: “Over the past few years wehave delivered over twenty projects into theCentre for Defence Enterprise (CDE). During anumber of these projects we have worked withacademic partners and scientific researchinstitutes, in addition to a micro-SME, who had

an idea that they were unable to implementthemselves; so with the breadth of ourengineering services we were able to successfullydeliver a concept demonstrator.”

Plextek continues to partner with smallbusinesses, helping them engage with thewider industry and access different fundingroutes.

Mr Doig clarified: “Plextek seeks innovationand trust in its supply chain partners. We needour partners to understand that to be successfulin the defence marketplace can take years ofhard slog. Defence is a complex marketplace; thedifferent funding streams mean that you canwin your first seed-funding project within threemonths, but to secure a large development cantake 18 to 48 months.”

He concluded: “Newcomers need to engagewith the MOD as much as possible. There are lotsof open, public events that then lead to moreclosed-shop events; these smaller events canboost suppliers’ ability to engage withstakeholders and meet their requirements.”

Unmanned systems: disrupting thedefence marketplace

Unmanned systems:

Further InformationFor more information, visit:www.plextek.com/markets/defence

“The last couple of years have seen a shift indefence research spend patterns toward moredisruptive technology research; this can lead togreater rewards but can be a difficult mediumfor which to write a compelling proposition”– Peter Doig, Defence Business Consultant, Plextek

Unmanned systems, whether aerial, land-based or marine, are taking the defencemarketplace by storm, their remotetechnology allowing intelligence to becollected and transmitted from warzoneswithout risking lives. Yet with this powercome ethical and commercial challenges,as Plextek’s Defence Business ConsultantPeter Doig explains in this interview withMOD DCB features editor Julie Shennan.