BAE Systems Awarded Phase 2 Contract for DARPA’s T-MUSIC Program

BAE Systems announced that it has been awarded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency a $5 million follow-on contract for phase 2 of the Technologies for Mixed-mode Ultra Scaled Integrated Circuits program. The latest deal follows the success of its delivery of phase 1 of the next-generation electronics program, BAE Systems said Wednesday.

In a statement, the British defense company said that T-MUSIC was designed by its FAST Labs research and development organization to enable disruptive radio frequency mixed-mode technologies by developing high-performance RF analog electronics integrated with advanced digital electronics on the same wafer. The new technology supports critical communications, radar and electronic warfare capabilities, and is widely used to support commercial telecommunications, the company said.

Chris Rappa, FAST Labs’ product line director for radio frequency, electronic warfare and advanced electronics, said the phase 2 contract will see BAE Systems developing even more advanced electronics capabilities that could serve as the foundation for enhanced Department of Defense capabilities in RF sensors and communications.

In January 2020, DARPA awarded BAE Systems with Phase 1 of the T-MUSIC contract to develop next-generation capabilities using a combination of wide spectral coverage, high resolution, large dynamic range and high information processing bandwidth. The deal arose from the DOD’s need for performance that far exceeds the capabilities offered by the commercial marketplace in terms of speed, fidelity, capacity and precision, BAE Systems said.