STRENGTH IN (SMALL) NUMBERS
TACTICAL TECH The Army’s tactical communications network is an integral part of current and future missions. As the battlefield gets more high-tech, keeping Soldiers’ edge means keeping up with the cutting edge—and small businesses, with their ability to move quickly, can help. (U.S. Army photo by Amy Walker, PEO C3T Public Affairs)
this increased height comes the increased risk of snagging the antenna, as well as the chance that it could break in harsh environments.
In response to user feedback, PEO C3T sought out an antenna solution through the SBIR program. Each Army PEO can submit two Phase I SBIR topics annually. From there, small businesses produce white papers that are evaluated by a team of experts, who then choose two from the pool of responses. After careful analysis, the two choices are narrowed to one topic for Phase II prototyping.
For PEO C3T, a SBIR contract often answers the need for a specific capabil- ity that is part of a larger program. Tis allows the prime contractor to focus on the overall product while the SBIR tar- gets a particular necessity that’s often based on user feedback.
“SBIRs provide the Army with a tremen- dous benefit,” said Michael Badger, chief for PEO C3T’s Futures, Systems Engi- neering and Architectures Branch. “Small businesses, through SBIRs, have the ability to focus on a particular aspect of a system and can utilize innovative methods to take some risks. Teir expertise in that niche area can make a big difference.”
26 Army AL&T Magazine
In the case of the Rifleman Radio antenna, the SBIR selection process resulted in a flexible, body-conforming antenna devel- oped by Massachusetts-based MegaWave Corp. “By utilizing SBIRs in concert with the standard acquisition process, we can get the state of the art, we can get improvements in our performance and we can reduce costs,” Badger said. “It’s a risk-balancing approach. You still have the prime program going on, but you also have a subject-matter expert and an alter- native perspective that is on the cutting edge, as an infusion into a program.”
For MegaWave, a company of fewer than 10 employees, the SBIR program helped level the playing field. Once they had their foot in the door, it was a matter of doing what they do best as a small com- pany: moving quickly.
“Just the way small businesses work—we like to keep things moving,” said John Yorko, senior antenna and radio fre- quency systems engineer for MegaWave.
“With large companies, it takes a long time for them to get things done. We can make it happen quickly. We don’t have the same level of bureaucracy and we don’t have to go through layers of inter- nal permissions. We can just go.”
MegaWave’s
Body-worn
Conformal
Antenna (BCA) works seamlessly with the Rifleman Radio, providing a flex- ible, durable antenna that conforms and clips securely to uniforms, so Soldiers can maneuver through any obstacle they might encounter. In preliminary tests, the antenna also increases the range of the radio in the majority of cases.
With positive assessment results, the Army is now procuring approximately 70 BCAs for additional assessment, and MegaWave is working on a new SBIR project to pro- duce a vehicle-mounted Mobile User Objective System ultra-high frequency satellite communications antenna, which provides users with secure voice and data on demand. Yorko said the key to success with the BCA was establishing open com- munications with both the prime and the contracting officer’s representative.
“Being able to coordinate with the prime contractor on the testing was very impor- tant and valuable,” Yorko said. “We were given unlimited access with their engi- neering folks so we could get our questions answered, and that was key.”
WHERE SBIRS FIT IN SBIRs were created to stimulate techno- logical advancement by increasing small
January-March 2016
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