Aerospace & Defense

What solutions does NOFFZ offer for aerospace and defense?

NOFFZ Technologies develops customised radio communication and RF systems for aerospace and defense. The portfolio covers RF-based drone detection, radar transceivers for early warning and air defence applications, GNSS frontends for high-precision positioning, 5G/6G mmWave platforms for research and prototyping, and channel sounding for naval applications. All systems are built on software-defined radio (SDR) and FPGA-based signal processing, complemented by RF test systems from the UTP platform.

Does NOFFZ offer a drone detection system?

Yes. NORD (NOFFZ Observation and Radio Detection) is an RF-based drone detection system with real-time decoding of commercial drone protocols. It operates from 70 MHz to 6 GHz, detects drones at ranges up to 5 km, and determines direction of arrival, operating frequency, bandwidth and signal power. Full technical specifications are available on the NORD product page.

Does NOFFZ collaborate with research institutions?

Yes. The GNSS frontend for high-precision positioning was developed in cooperation with the Institute of Space Technology and Space Applications at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich, with the results documented in a publicly available research report. For radar channel research in naval environments, NOFFZ developed a wide-tuning-range antenna array together with the University of California, San Diego to characterise RF propagation over the sea surface.

Does NOFFZ build custom systems or standard products?

NOFFZ builds predominantly custom systems. Architecture, design and development are matched to device characteristics and project goals — including RF connectivity through the in-house Signal Conditioning Unit (SCU), customer-specific switching and conditioning cards, and the modular UTP 50XY adapter platform. Configurable products such as the Base Station Emulator and the GNSS Simulator complement the custom work.

What test systems does NOFFZ offer for RF applications in defense?

The UTP platform covers the full measurement spectrum: high-voltage applications, RF communication, and systems with high-speed digital interfaces. The systems can be deployed as development and validation testers, as functional production testers, or as mobile test stations. The UTP 50XY RF test adapters are modular, CE-compliant, and support RF-shielded test requirements from high-density board-level testing to end-of-line testing in series production.

What is the NOFFZ Signal Conditioning Unit (SCU)?

The SCU is a NOFFZ-developed assembly handling RF connectivity and the interface to the device under test — typically the most demanding interface in an RF test setup. It has already been deployed in hundreds of projects. It is complemented by in-house development and production of highly customer-specific switching and conditioning cards.

What capabilities do NOFFZ radar transceivers offer?

NOFFZ radar transceivers support a range of pulse compression techniques including 13-bit Barker code modulation, phase-coded modulation, FM and AM. Integrated algorithms such as Moving Target Indication (MTI), clutter detection and CFAR deliver accurate target identification in challenging environments. The systems are designed for early warning and air defence applications, combining advanced RF design with FPGA-based processing.

How many targets can NOFFZ radar systems simulate?

The radar transceivers support simulation of up to 600 targets with adjustable parameters for velocity, phase, direction and signal level. This allows dynamic test scenarios to be constructed for comprehensive and realistic radar system performance evaluation.

What positioning accuracy does the NOFFZ GNSS frontend achieve?

The GNSS frontend achieves accuracy down to three centimetres using Precise Point Positioning (PPP). It receives signals from 10 MHz to 6 GHz — and, via external mixers, higher bands such as the Ku band used for Starlink downlinks — offers four radio frequency channels, and supports integration of Inertial Measurement Units (IMU) for inertial navigation. It is built on an SDR platform developed specifically for GNSS/INS applications.

What is the difference between the NOFFZ GNSS frontend and the GNSS simulator?

The GNSS frontend is a receiving system: it integrates GNSS, 4G/5G and other radio signals for high-precision positioning in urban and tactical environments. The GNSS Simulator SUTP 5017, by contrast, generates GNSS signals in real time to replicate custom test scenarios for GPS, Galileo and Glonass. One supports navigation; the other tests navigation receivers.

What frequency ranges does the NOFFZ 5G/6G mmWave platform cover?

The NOFFZ mmWave platform covers the 71–76 GHz and 110–170 GHz frequency ranges. It builds on commercially available research platforms such as NI MTS and SDRs, extended with customer-specific APIs, FPGA modifications and advanced mmWave components. The proprietary NOFFZ mmWave prototyping software platform supports real-time testing and development, including integration of customer-specific FPGA models.

What is channel sounding and how is it used in naval applications?

Channel sounding characterises how radio signals propagate through a given environment — in the maritime case, RF propagation over the sea surface across different frequencies and power levels. NOFFZ developed a wide-tuning-range antenna array for this purpose together with the University of California, San Diego, designed for an 18 GHz channel sounding project. Weatherproof antenna boxes with RF downconverters allow rapid setup and teardown, while Python-based control software automates measurement runs across an 8-channel antenna array.

What hardware platforms are NOFFZ RF systems built on?

NOFFZ builds on commercial off-the-shelf COTS platforms extended with in-house development. NORD is built on NI USRP hardware with FPGA-based signal processing; the mmWave systems on NI MTS and SDRs with customer-specific APIs and FPGA modifications. This approach keeps the upgrade path open and avoids dependence on proprietary hardware, while application-specific performance comes from proprietary RF frontends, antenna subsystems and software.