Defense facilities in RI
14 facilities · 7 categories
Communications
Communications in RI →Compact Range
Newport, RI
The Compact Range is a rectangular (20 ft. high by 27 ft. wide by 48 ft. long) anechoic chamber that is used for antenna performance and RCS characterization. The facility has a 6 ft. diameter by 8 ft. long cylindrical quiet zone. This range provides the capability to measure antenna performance from 2 GHz to 50 GHz as well as RCS characterization from 2-18 GHz.
Fishers Island Complex
Newport, RI
The Fishers Island Antenna Complex is the only facility of its kind in the world that provides development, design, and evaluation support for a variety of communication, navigation, and electronic warfare programs. It is located on a low-lying, remote coastal area free from radiation obstructions and man-made electromagnetic interference.
Fishers Island Mile Range
Newport, RI
The Mile Range consists of two antenna deployment sites located exactly one mile apart; the curvature of the island provides a natural one-mile range over seawater between these two sites. The facility is used for measurement of antenna performance over the MF, HF, and VHF bands. The transmit site consists of a 50 ft. diameter seawater pool attached to buried ground radials that extend over 100 ft. radially outward. The antenna under test is mounted in the pool. A shielded underground laboratory, located beneath the pool, serves as the control room for the range and also houses an azimuth positioner and hydraulic lift mast. The receive site consists of an instrumented van and receive equipment that communicates with the transmit site via a wireless data link.
Overwater Arch
Newport, RI
The Submarine Overwater Antenna Test Facility provides the capability to measure the hemispherical pattern of antennas over a seawater groundplane. This facility consists of a 70ft. radius tripod forming an arch over a seawater pool on the roof of the building. Antennas under test are located at the center of the pool, while a second antenna traverses one leg of the tripod. The antenna under test can be rotated, raised, or lowered. Pattern measurements can be taken over the 100 MHz – 18 GHz range.
Tapered Chamber
Newport, RI
The RF Tapered Anechoic Chamber is a large (98 ft. long by 29 ft. high/wide) anechoic chamber that is used for design, development, test, and evaluation of a variety of antennas. The Chamber has a 15 ft. diameter quiet zone and a mount that is capable of handling loads of up to 2000 lbs. The system provides complete antenna measurement capability from 100 MHz to 50 GHz as well as RCS capabilities from 2-18 GHz.
Acoustics
Acoustics in RI →Acoustic Wind Tunnel
Newport, RI
The Acoustic Wind Tunnel is a large, quiet, low mach number facility specifically designed for basic hydrodynamic and hydroacoustic investigations. Construction techniques and design flexibility allow the tunnel to support a multitude of test configurations. The test volume is acoustically anechoic and completely isolated, resulting in extremely low background noise levels. These features permit measurement of radiated noise forcing functions at full-scale Reynolds numbers in completely uncontaminated flow. The facility maintains standard air parameters and can be converted from closed flow to open flow using external louvers. Large access doors, cranes, and a flexible testing arrangement make this facility well suited for dual-use projects such as automobile or environmental flow studies.
Anechoic Chamber
Newport, RI
The Anechoic Chamber provides a pure environment that is free of all external noise and vibration. The chamber is a research tool aimed specifically at advanced studies in active noise cancellation, directivity, and measurements of sound power levels. The unique combination of acoustic and radio frequency measurement capabilities within a common enclosure allows the entire range of signatures to be easily established in a cost-effective manner. The versatility designed into this facility allows investigations into such areas as environmental/community noise studies, consumer appliance noise, automobile noise, and commercial product airborne sound certification.
Quiet Water Tunnel
Newport, RI
Overview: The Quiet Water Tunnel (QWT) is a hydro-acoustic research facility designed for measurement of non-acoustic turbulent flow noise (pseudosound) and flow-induced acoustic noise. The QWT is located in Building 122 at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport, Rhode Island. The facility is acoustically quiet above 30 Hz thus allowing measurements of "low wavenumber" turbulent wall pressure levels in the absence of significant ambient acoustic noise. Fresh water is used as the working fluid (salt water is not used in the system).
Sensors
Sensors in RI →RCS Van
Newport, RI
The Fishers Island RCS Measurement Range consists of a mobile radar truck, two radar shore sites, and a calibration tower. This facility, in conjunction with the SSTP, supports the test and evaluation of electromagnetic sensors in an open ocean environment. The Range is equipped with a mobile, coherent, stepped frequency instrumentation radar system capable of making full polarization scattering matrix measurement across the frequency range of 2-18 GHz. The radar system is equipped with a video tracking capability for measurements of dynamic targets.
Submarine Sensor Test Platform (SSTP)
Newport, RI
The Submarine Sensor Test Platform (SSTP) facility is an RCS/antenna measurement platform consisting of a shore site and an open ocean site 900 feet offshore. Large mast structures are mounted on the platform while on shore. The SSTP is then moved by a winch to an offshore docking station for testing. Antennas on the platform can be connected to onboard measuring devices for collecting antenna pattern or impedance data.