Communications and Networking Discovery & Invention_

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Communications technology that can provide seamless, robust, connectivity is at the foundation of the Sea Power 21 and FORCEnet Vision "... to have the right information, at the right place, at the right time ..." The performance of Command and Control (C2) systems and decision making at all levels of command depend critically on reliable, interoperable, survivable, secure and timely communications and networking, and the availability of high capacity multimedia (voice, data, imagery) communication networks is fundamental to nearly all Department of Navy missions. The current evolution of naval warfighting from a platform-centric to a network-centric paradigm depends on successfully meeting the implied need for significantly enhanced communications and networking capabilities, extending both to fixed shore facilities and to highly mobile air, surface, land and subsurface platforms, including the so-called "disadvantaged user", e.g., small-deck combatants, submarines, unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), dispersed ground units in urban and radio frequency (RF) challenged environments. Many of these tactical platforms and users routinely operate in a highly intermittent, often disconnected communications environment. The goal of the Communications and Networking Program within the Office of Naval Research (ONR 312) is to support the FORCEnet vision by developing measurable advances in technology that can directly enable and enhance end-to-end connectivity and quality-of-service for mission-critical information exchange among such widely dispersed naval, joint and coalition forces. The vision is to provide high throughput robust communications and autonomous networking to ensure all warfighters - from the operational command to the tactical edge - have access to information, knowledge, and decision-making necessary to perform their assigned tasks. White papers for potential FY10 Exploratory Development/Applied Research (Budget category 6.2) projects are sought under the following focus areas: 1. Next generation tactical data link waveforms/networks simultaneously satisfying conflicting requirements of low-intercept, anti-jam and bandwidth, while being scalable to hundreds of nodes within a few hops (i.e., maintain low latency). 2. Electronic protection for High Frequency (HF) Communications (e.g., electrically small antennas, low observable or feature-less waveforms, rapid synch/detection, blind beam forming, and dynamic interference cancellation). 3. Efficient and robust multi-hop networking in the presence of significant differences in communications performance between transmit and receive links (e.g., asymmetry in error rate due to link disruption) of some pairs of nodes. 4. Concepts using the platform superstructure as an antenna and efficiently coupling the signal to the communications system, both in the receive as well as in the transmit direction. Some receive capability has been shown in the HF, but needs to be expanded to other frequency bands. 5. Mitigation techniques to overcome poor optical propagation through aerosols/obscurants (e.g., fog and cloud propagation/scattering of 1.5 micron communications wavelength) ONR is also receptive to highly innovative ideas in other general communications and networking areas that are not designated focus as above, but nonetheless important to Navy/Marine Corps, as determined under the synopsis section above. Work funded under a BAA may include basic research, applied research and some advanced technology development (ATD). With regard to any restrictions on the conduct or outcome of work funded under this BAA, ONR will follow the guidance on and definition of "contracted fundamental research" as provided in the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics) Memorandum of 26 June 2008. As defined therein, the definition of "contracted fundamental research", in a DoD contractual context, includes [research performed under] grants and contracts that are (a) funded by Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Budget Activity 1 (Basic Research), whether performed by universities or industry or (b) funded by Budget Activity 2 (Applied Research) and performed on campus at a university or by industry. ATD is funded through Budget Activity 3. In conformance with the USD(AT&L) guidance and National Security Decision Directive 189, ONR will place no restriction on the conduct or reporting of unclassified fundamental research, except as otherwise required by statute, regulation or Executive Order. Normally, fundamental research is awarded under grants with universities and under contracts with industry. ATD is normally awarded under contracts and may require restrictions during the conduct of the research and DoD pre-publication review of research results due to subject matter sensitivity.

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