From the Battlefield to Benchtop: How FPGAs Give the Military a Critical Edge

In the high-stakes world of military operations, speed, adaptability, and security are paramount. While general-purpose processors and specialized ASICs have their place, a unique type of integrated circuit is increasingly becoming a cornerstone of modern military defense technology: the Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).

Think of an FPGA as a digital chameleon. Unlike fixed-function chips, an FPGA’s internal hardware architecture can be reconfigured after it’s manufactured. This incredible flexibility allows engineers to tailor the chip’s functionality to specific tasks, making them invaluable in a wide array of demanding military applications.

So, how exactly are these adaptable powerhouses being used to give our armed forces a critical advantage? Let’s dive into some key areas.

Radar and Signal Processing: Seeing Through the Noise

Modern radar systems generate massive amounts of data that need to be processed in real-time to detect and track targets. FPGAs excel at this due to inherent parallelism that allows them to tackle multiple complex tasks simultaneously.

• High-Speed Data Acquisition. FPGAs can handle the incredibly high data rates coming from radar sensors.
• Complex Algorithms. They can be programmed to implement sophisticated signal processing algorithms for noise reduction, target identification, and tracking.
• Electronic Warfare (EW). FPGAs are crucial in EW systems for jamming enemy signals, analyzing the electromagnetic spectrum, and developing countermeasures – all requiring lightning-fast processing and adaptability.

New Wave Design’s V6065 3U VPX FPGA module is a great example of a solution designed to support radar systems, or other high bandwidth applications, in a rugged environment. Integrating AMD’s Versal™ Premium ASoC FPGA, coupled with 300Gb of optical interfaces, the V6065 offers large FPGA fabric and ARM core processors to support large throughput and processing of data.

Communication Systems: Secure and Reliable Connections

Coordinated missions depend on fast, secure communication across air, land, sea, and space. Whether switching frequencies, encrypting messages, or correcting signal errors mid-transmission, FPGAs give military defense systems the agility and performance needed to keep information flowing without compromise.

• Software-Defined Radio (SDR). FPGAs enable the creation of SDRs, where radio functionalities like modulation, demodulation, and frequency hopping are implemented in software running on the reconfigurable hardware. This allows a single radio to adapt to different waveforms and protocols.
• Encryption and Decryption. FPGAs can implement custom, high-performance encryption and decryption algorithms to ensure secure communication of sensitive information.
• Error Correction. They can also be used to implement complex error correction codes to maintain reliable communication links even in noisy or challenging environments.

Image and Video Processing: Eyes in the Sky and on the Ground

From surveillance drones to targeting systems, the military relies heavily on processing visual information. It’s essential — a delay or error in interpreting that data can mean missed threats, compromised missions, or even loss of life. FPGAs offer the processing power needed for:

• Real-Time Image Enhancement. FPGAs can perform tasks like image stabilization, noise reduction, and edge detection in real-time, improving the clarity and usability of imagery.
• Object Recognition and Tracking. They can be programmed to implement complex algorithms for automatically identifying and tracking objects of interest in video feeds.
• Hyperspectral Imaging. FPGAs can handle the massive data streams from hyperspectral sensors, enabling detailed analysis of terrain and materials.

Electronic Warfare (EW) and Cyber Security: The Invisible Battlefield

The modern battlefield extends beyond the physical realm. Success often hinges on who can detect, disrupt, or outmaneuver digital threats in real time — before adversaries even know they’ve been seen. FPGAs are crucial in both electronic warfare and cybersecurity:

• High-Speed Packet Processing. In cyber security applications, FPGAs can be used for deep packet inspection and intrusion detection at incredibly high speeds.
• Hardware Acceleration for Cryptography. As mentioned earlier, FPGAs provide a platform for implementing custom and high-performance military cryptographic algorithms.
• Rapid Prototyping of Security Tools. Their reconfigurability allows for the rapid development and deployment of new security countermeasures.

Embedded Systems and Control: Powering Autonomous Platforms

As the military increasingly adopts autonomous vehicles and robotic systems, FPGAs are playing a vital role in their control and processing. These systems demand compact, low-latency hardware that can fuse sensor data, adapt to edge conditions, and operate without constant human oversight.

• Real-Time Control Loops. FPGAs can implement deterministic, high-speed control loops for precise control of motors, sensors, and actuators in autonomous systems.
• Sensor Fusion. They can process data from multiple sensors (e.g., lidar, radar, cameras) and fuse it together to create a comprehensive understanding of the environment.
• AI Acceleration at the Edge. Modern FPGAs are even incorporating dedicated AI acceleration blocks, enabling on-device processing of machine learning algorithms for tasks like autonomous navigation and target recognition.

The Advantage of Adaptability

The key advantage of using FPGAs in military applications is their inherent flexibility and adaptability. Unlike fixed-function hardware, FPGAs can be reprogrammed in the field to adapt to changing mission requirements, new threats, and evolving technologies. This future-proofs military systems and reduces the need for costly hardware replacements.

From enhancing situational awareness through advanced signal and image processing to ensuring secure communication and powering the next generation of autonomous systems, FPGAs are a vital enabling technology for the modern military.