The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Microsystems Technology Office is seeking proposals for a new program that aims to develop reconfigurable processors that can provide autonomous radio frequency signals.

In a broad agency announcement, DARPA said the Processor Reconfiguration for Wideband Sensor Systems program is looking to develop high-throughput, streaming-data processors capable of reconfiguring autonomously in 50 nanoseconds to detect and characterize RF signals in complex environments.

Radios that use artificial intelligence currently rely on field programmable gate arrays, which can be reprogrammed far slower than signal environments can change.

PROWESS builds on prior DARPA research programs including the Spectrum Collaboration Challenge.

John Davies, PROWESS program manager, said SC2 “demonstrated that autonomous RF systems deliver significant benefits over traditional fixed or rule-based approaches.”

DARPA will host a proposers day on Oct. 13 to discuss the PROWESS program.

The Technology Modernization Fund has made investments in the Office of Personnel Management, Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Army to help improve user experience and cybersecurity.

“Through TMF investments, we are demonstrating what’s possible right now in modern government service delivery,” Clare Martorana, federal chief information officer and chair of the TMF Board, said in a statement published Thursday.

“The investments in OPM, HUD, and the Army will address immediate security needs and enhance customer experience and business operations by modernizing outdated systems – expectations we must be able to meet for our customers,” added Martorana, a 2022 Wash100 Award winner.

OPM will use $6 million in TMF funding to update its website by implementing a new content management system hosted on its cloud environment.

HUD secured a $14.8 million investment to enhance customer experience by replacing legacy systems with a cloud-based platform meant to integrate Federal Housing Administration Connection tools with Login.gov.

The Army will utilize the TMF investment for its Critical Infrastructure Cyber Protection Project, which seeks to implement a Security Operations as-a-Service framework meant to improve the service’s cybersecurity posture and facilitate operations of its Organic Industrial Base sites.

A project team involving the U.S. Department of Defense and the Norwegian defense ministry conducted a test of a solid fuel ramjet vehicle in August and met Phase 1 objectives of the Tactical High-speed Offensive Ramjet for Extended Range program.

The test SFRJ vehicle fired several times and demonstrated advanced air injection, throttling techniques, high energy fuels and other propulsion technologies, DOD said Wednesday.

THOR-ER is a collaborative program involving the Pentagon’s research and engineering office, Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, the Joint Hypersonics Transition Office, Nordic Ammunition Co. and Norway’s defense research establishment.

“The SFRJ flight vehicle was accelerated to above Mach 2 with the help of a solid rocket booster, and transitioned to ramjet mode. The flight phase was a resounding success with stable flight, robust ramjet operation, and a high thrust-to-drag ratio,” said Stein Erik Nodeland, executive vice president of aerospace propulsion at Nammo.

“The flights performed in accordance with pre-flight calculations, demonstrating a high-speed long-range trajectory,” Nodeland added.

Heidi Shyu, DOD undersecretary for research and engineering and a 2022 Wash100 Award winner, commended the THOR-ER team for continuing development work on the propulsion system and advancing science and tech collaboration with partners in Norway amid the pandemic.

“The United States needs to be working closely with our allies to ensure our joint force has the most cutting edge capabilities on the battlefield,” noted Shyu.

The test was conducted on Aug. 17 at Andoya in northern Norway.