Vencore Inc. won a $6 million three-year Defense Department contract on the Cellular Range Telemetry Network (CeRTN) program to develop cellular communication technology for telemetry data delivery, the company said March 28.
Under the contract Vencore’s research arm, Vencore Labs, will develop a prototype system that will leverage commercial cellular technology for Aeronautical Mobile Telemetry (AMT) applications at department major range and test facility bases.
The CeRTN system is set to provide cellular coverage for AMT by using off-the-shelf cellular technology devices. The system will adapt commercial cellular equipment for use in delivering telemetry data from high-speed test vehicles during flight-test exercises, Vencore said.
The Defense Department is trying to reduce the amount of the electromagnetic spectrum it requires for test and evaluation activities as wireless services proliferate and spectrum availability shrinks. The project aims to eventually provide frequency reuse and improved spectral efficiency.
“We are excited to partner with the DoD to utilize the spectrum more efficiently and address this growing problem,” Petros Mouchtaris., president of Vencore Labs, said in a statement.