AFRL adds nearly $3 million in funding to contract with ANDRO

ROME, N.Y. — The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) recently awarded $2.97 million in additional research and development funding to an existing contract with ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC.

The added funding for the Waveform Agile Systems Palette – Next Generation (WASP-NG) Hardware/Software Prototype contract, valued at $6.17 million, raises the current obligated amount to $3.83 mllion. The funds will further advance the state-of-the-art in software-based waveforms for radio communications through October 2024.

“The contract continues to propel innovations in true software-based waveform development and in the growth of the government’s software waveform ecosystem to support the warfighter’s needs, including advancements in 5G cellular commercial technologies and beyond,” ANDRO President Dr. Andrew Drozd said in a news release.

These technologies are just the “tip of the spear” in advancing the communications landscape for both military and commercial radio manufacturers, he added.

ANDRO’s WASP-NG significantly reduces the time and cost to generate validated digital-communications waveforms for the rapid field deployment of military radio platforms. The company’s Heisenberg Lab, under the leadership of Dr. Ashwin Amanna, chief scientist for the research sector, assisted by James Bohl, senior research engineer, is performing the work in support of AFRL’s Information Directorate in Rome.

“We took AFRL’s vision, implemented it, and demonstrated it could work, but to get here required a partnership of multiple companies and an ecosystem of stakeholders with a common goal,” Amanna said. He credited AFRL Program Manager Michael Gudaitis for his forward-thinking vision.

ANDRO has already been in contact with several large defense/aerospace and commercial companies interested in leveraging the WASP-NG capability to enhance their radio communications products and services. The company hopes to expand its research to serve a growing customer base and is exploring a possible separate division centered on delivering waveform-as-a-service to customers.

Located at the Beeches Business Park, ANDRO (www.androcs.com) provides research, engineering, and technical services to the defense and commercial industries in numerous areas.

The AFRL is the primary scientific research and development arm for the U.S. Air Force.