SPRA Offers Indigenous High Tech Systems

SPRA Defense & Aerospace is a tech startup founded by a young team in 2012 with vision of developing indigenous and globally competitive high tech systems. 

The company’s current undertaking is a lightweight Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensor for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The project is supported by the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey.

Synthetic Aperture Radar for ISR Missions

Synthetic Aperture Radar is the ultimate Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance sensor system. As depicted in the diagram; it provides images of wide swaths of areas from long ranges. 

SAR collects information by transmitting radar pulses and processing their echoes. Since it illuminates the area of interest itself, it is an active sensor. Passive sensors like electro-optical cameras and infrared sensors collect scattered light, and because they are dependent on external sources of illumination, their performance are adversely affected by day/night cycle and weather conditions. SARs however, go unaffected by any operating condition, exploiting the fact that transmitted electromagnetic waves easily penetrate clouds, and even foliage in certain frequencies.

In addition to being the most robust and reliable ISR tool, SAR signals collect valuable additional information for situational awareness, like moving target indication and IED detection. 

Lighter and smaller

SPRA SAR is small and lightweight, a 16 kg unit. Small size makes it possible to integrate into a broader range of platforms. It also enables the enhancement of payload capabilities by leaving room for other sensor payloads, munitions and structural parts. Various types of sensors could be used for sensor fusion. Each pound saved from the sensor weight budget will translate directly to higher fire power in the Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAV) of the future with munitions payload, an indigenous version of which is in roadmap. 

Product is configured with less bulk and mechanical subsystems, and hence easier and less costly maintenance improves the lifecycle management of the sensor.

Given its long range operation and coverage of large areas; SAR has been regarded as a strategic level sensor. However smaller platforms never had the chance to fit in such a sensor. Mission scenarios including the utilization of smaller UAV families could provide agility in counter-insurgency operations, by more direct access to enhanced intelligence and SAR could prove to be a force multiplier in these scenarios, too.

Software defined architecture of the product allows the sensor to operate as a multi-function ESM payload, which makes the product to be able to dynamically adhere to a set of requirements. 

Next Decade Technologies

It’s almost obvious that growing UAS fleets are going to be gradually more autonomous. Major technological hurdles keeping this vision from happening originate from the lack of situational awareness capabilities of the platform itself. Although UASs transmit invaluable information of the theatre, they are dummy objects. For “smarter” platforms, sensor technologies may need to reach beyond many tipping points in core technology, component and system levels in the years to come. And considering that this autonomization wave will affect not only aerial systems but all unmanned systems, on land, sea, and space, it is a clear way to proceed for a company aims to satisfy the needs of the future.

By investing in R&D and continuing preliminary discussions with international institutions for collaboration in these new areas, SPRA has already taken the first few steps into next decade’s path.

Having set their goal as to develop a globally competitive sensor product from the very beginning, European nations seeking to extend their unmanned systems capabilities are SPRA’s primary target foreign market.

On the product side, SPRA aims to render SAR product platforms ready for integration in late 2015. The flow of requests from potential buyers for the final specifications of the product confirms the market demand that had been estimated. The fact that the product will be placed in a market with very few suppliers and beat its competitors in its scalability and economy have already excited many international firms and organizations, with whom the company considers joint venture and private equity options, on the financial side.

Marketing-wise, the company has booked places in the DSEI 2015 Fair and Maritime ISR conference, to be held in London in September to increase their international market exposure and better understand the needs of the next generation UAV producers.

Deep Innovation 

It is an emerging trend to increase COTS product range and exploit the economies of scale of mass produced equipment for telecommunications and consumer products, to cut costs and shorten the time to market cycle. Although seemingly straightforward, this approach has many shortcomings in satisfying the demanding requirements for high performance sensor systems.

SPRA considers that efficient and sustainable way of creating lighter and advanced sensors requires a more holistic approach; innovation is strongly needed in all facets of system design.

In order to achieve the most stringent requirements, static know-how might fall short. Innovations in new research frontiers must be thoroughly monitored, and co-innovations in numerous areas like emerging core technologies, rapidly evolving digital processing resources, high speed and high bandwidth communication protocols, new standards, specialty materials, cutting edge reliability and thermal management approaches must be coherently harnessed into products.   

Novel solutions have been devised and patents are being filed. To realize innovative solutions, a network of suppliers and manufacturers worldwide, each expert in their own fields is utilized.

Handier Project Management Tools for R&D 

Being a fresh startup means a fresh start with no legacy systems, no switching costs, and maximum ability to adopt new paradigms quickly. 

Extensive approach that is taken to create extraordinary products requires a flexible and powerful tool to manage the ecosystem, and to turn know-how, insights, and experience into manageable assets. 

SPRA has adopted Critical Chain Project Management method. CCPM is a project management method that is originated to diminish the effects of uncertainties, and it provides an excellent framework for managing the inherent, inevitable uncertainties of innovation in R&D projects. Considering the long delays common in the lifecycles of especially large scale projects, it’s clear that the method has potential.

Unlike the conventional project management tools that are mostly originated from well understood manufacturing processes, CCPM provides resilience and maximizes “brains” resource utilization. It stands out quite successfully among other project management methods, as being reported to have significantly shortened many important projects, including the ones of the aerospace giant Boeing.

Future Prospects

Know how obtained by working on such sophisticated R&D project have many complex ingredients. A number of core capabilities in various technology areas are required for sensor miniaturization. SPRA strives to deliver high-tech products and solutions to a niche market in which very few countries and companies are able to compete, and to be in the frontier of the upcoming technological paradigm shifts. 

Indigenous platforms are being developed rapidly with unprecedented success. SPRA team feels obliged to contribute to national know-how for developing indigenous sensor systems and are proud to work for such a technology in Turkey which has the most agile and capable air force in its region.