Cancun

Cancun will create distributable nodes to measure the radio high frequency (HF) environment for improved war fighter situational awareness in the critical High Frequency (HF) radio band. The low size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C) of these nodes will enable cost-effective wide-area deployments. The Cancun nodes will measure the state of the ionosphere using a sounding function, as well as record and relay portions of the HF radio band for analysis. The primary challenge in Cancun is the coordination of large numbers of Cancun units deployed over distances of well over 1000 kilometers. Cancun will provide a command and control (C2) network and planning tools to address this challenge. The C2 hardware solution may be to utilize existing wired infrastructure or a wireless solution. Communications latency will be an important parameter for this network. The mission planning tool will be developed with war fighter input to optimize functionality. Technologies developed under the Cancun program will transition to the Services.

DARPA seeks innovative proposals to build and deliver Cancun units and the associated C2 network. A total of eleven Cancun units and associated C2 networking hardware and software will be delivered in Phase 1, and in the Phase 2 Option an additional fifty nodes with the associated C2 network will be delivered. Cancun will deploy these nodes over wide areas as a test bed for experiments. The Cancun nodes must operate reliably in austere environments for the duration of the program. Remote maintenance of the nodes is required, as well as over-the-air software update.