Date: 19/10/2009

BittWare Receives Production Order for NG STARLite Program

BittWare has received a large production order from Northrop Grumman for BittWare's GT-3U-cPCI (GT3U) hybrid signal processing board that features the Altera Stratix II GX FPGA and provides the real-time signal processing for the U.S. Army's STARLite radar.

STARLite - Small Tactical Airborne Radar, a synthetic aperture radar for ground moving target indication is a new radar system that provides unprecedented situational awareness and target coordination for surveillance and protection of ground-based forces. The system uses multiple radar images to create one high resolution image with more detail than any prior system, providing forces with an unprecedented view of their surrounding areas. The high-end signal processing required by the system coupled with the need for a small form factor, low power, and light weight solution with BittWare's hybrid (FPGA+DSP) signal processing expertise, making BittWare's GT3U product a perfect fit.

"We are continually seeing our customers' system requirements migrate to more movable solutions that must fit into space-constrained areas, while also requiring faster and more efficient signal processing," stated Darren Taylor, Senior VP of Sales & Marketing at BittWare. "Our hybrid signal processing hardware, IP and frameworks, and software tools enable our customers to meet these changing needs in a timely manner while also ensuring that they can modify and update for future requirements - a key factor, especially in the defense/aerospace industry."

BittWare's GT3U is a ruggedized 3U CompactPCI board designed for multi-processor based applications requiring complete flexibility and adaptability. The board uses the on-board Altera Stratix II GX to provide all front-end processing, enabling the on-board DSPs to provide complex data analysis in real-time. The combination of the two creates a system requiring less on-board processing units compared to a DSP-based system, saving space and allowing for a small form-factor solution. BittWare's ATLANTiS" FrameWork provides validated board-level physical interfaces, data fabrics, and control planes for the GT3U's FPGA, and, in conjunction with the board's FINe" host/control bridge, greatly simplifies application development and board integration.