PRODUCT OF THE WEEK: Silvus FASST 6000 Spectrum Sensor

This week’s product, the Silvus Technologies FASST6000 Spectrum Sensor, expands beyond MANET radio communications, becoming a force multiplier by extending advanced RF sensing capabilities to dismounted operators and small unmanned aerial system (UAS) applications. Its 144.5 THz-per-second scan speed provides near-instantaneous measurements that are crucial for achieving decision dominance across the electromagnetic battlespace.

Available as a rugged handheld unit for dismounted operators or an OEM module for integration into unmanned systems, this low size, weight, and power (SWaP) system places the performance and power of a much larger device into a tactical form factor, enabling operators to reprogram scan parameters on the fly to maintain a decisive edge in signals intelligence (SIGINT).

Advanced Capabilities

The FASST 6000 is compatible with Silvus StreamCaster MANET radios, enabling the creation of a networked sensor architecture for distributed RF monitoring. It also automatically filters out emissions from networked radios.

Other capabilities include:

Ability to detect signals beneath the noise floor
Advanced direction finding and geolocation for real-time Spectrum Intelligence
Millisecond-level detection with on-the-fly control
Available as a rugged handheld unit or compact OEM module
Programmable dwell time, scan speed, instantaneous bandwidth, and RF bands of interest

Defining FASST

FASST [Filtering by Aliasing Spectrum Sensing Technology] is a proprietary Silvus RF signal processing technique that enables the sensor’s capabilities, delivering a spectrum scanning speed of 144.5 THz per second. This rate allows FASST 6000 to perform near-instantaneous measurements from 1 MHz to 6 GHz across multiple coherent antenna ports, enabling detection of even extremely short-duration, low-power, or low-duty-cycle RF transmissions.

Real-Time RF Spectrum Intelligence

The FASST 6000 performs high-speed spectrum scanning, signal detection, recording, and direction finding (DF); when paired with a DF antenna head, it provides accurate line of bearing to RF emitters. With three or more networked sensors, the part enables real-time triangulation for precise geolocation. FASST 6000 enables users of dismounted SIGINT, airborne counter-UAS ELINT, and wide-area distributed RF monitoring systems to realize a common operational picture across the electromagnetic battlespace.

General Features

OEM Module:
- Weight: 49.5 grams
- Dimensions (mm) 110 x 54.6 x 10.48
- RF ports: 3x SMP(m)
- Interfaces: Ethernet, Power USB x2
Rugged handheld unit
- Weight: 464 grams
- Dimensions: 135.5 x 90 x 36.5 mm
- RF ports: 3x TNC(f)
- Interfaces: PRI: Ethernet, Power AUX: USB x2