Securing air and ground dominance is critical for defending high-value assets and controlling the skies. Recognizing this need, L3Harris recently collaborated with MatrixSpace – an innovator in next-generation, AI-enabled radar – to demonstrate how the companies’ novel technologies can be combined to provide a ground-breaking, low-cost solution to detecting, identifying, and tracking drones.
Integration for Mission Success
In August 2024, L3Harris and MatrixSpace held a joint demonstration at the Oklahoma State University Unmanned Aircraft Flight Station. The team integrated four technologies into its counter UAS solution:
L3Harris UAS (Uncrewed Aerial System) TRACER: UAS TRACER effectively detects, recognizes, and tracks drone swarms using raw inputs from single EO/IR sensors, multiple distributed sensors and additional tracking systems. Additionally, UAS TRACER employs machine learning software capabilities to recognize specific types of UAS threats within the mission concept of operations.
L3Harris Chimera Modular Open System: UAS Tracer is built on L3Harris’ Chimera framework. Chimera is a rapidly configurable software development tool that enables teams to build software according to Modular Open Systems Approach/Architecture (MOSA) standards. Chimera provides graph-based data management that promotes modularity. Providing an easy path to creating discrete modules, Chimera leads teams to develop systems that are easily maintained, upgraded, integrated and tested. The resulting modular MOSA designs are more akin to assembled building blocks as opposed to one-off, single purpose solutions.
L3Harris WESCAM MX™ Series: L3Harris’ WESCAM MX-Series of multi-sensor, multi-spectral, electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) surveillance and targeting systems support intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and target acquisition missions from platforms across the air, land and maritime domains. L3Harris WESCAM MX sighting systems incorporate battle-proven WESCAM MX-Series EO/IR imaging technology and operate flawlessly in extreme temperatures, at excessive speed and varying altitudes, and within the harshest environments, including those with intensive dirt, dust and smoke.
MatrixSpace Radar: MatrixSpace radar technology provides small size, weight, power and cost (SWaP-C) units that can synchronize to create a radar mesh network, giving users the power to digitize their outdoor environments. MatrixSpace deploys arrays of these radar units to vehicles and stationary locations at the tactical edge. It can be set up and operational in a matter of minutes to facilitate those situations where speed of deployment is a key factor for a successful outcome. The radar offers new information and details to users previously unavailable from the ground or in the air. The overall architecture design delivers confidence to customers that they will receive the information necessary to make immediate, real-time decisions.
The successful demo leveraged an L3Harris WESCAM MX-Series EO/IR sensor turret to provide imagery of fixed-wing and rotary-wing UAS systems. MatrixSpace's radar tracking capabilities were validated within an existing L3Harris UAS TRACER software system.
Forging Unique Partnerships as the Defense Industry’s Trusted Disruptor
L3Harris’ relationship with MatrixSpace was forged through a strategic partnership with venture capital firm Shield Capital to foster emerging defense and commercial technologies that address customers’ growing requirements for innovative, agile solutions that can be rapidly fielded. The solution tested in August is directly aligned with the partnership’s goal to expand integration of emerging technologies in high customer demand.
The Result? Improved Drone Defense
As drones become a persistent and escalating threat, the development of integrated systems that aid operators by providing a common operating picture while continuing to interrogate new threats is crucial. The small size, weight, power and cost (SWaP-C) solution recently demonstrated by L3Harris and MatrixSpace is a powerful example of how unique collaborations can disrupt the defense technology ecosystem and deliver new capabilities to customer at the speed of relevance to the evolving threats they’re facing.
