Electronic-warfare emulator the largest virtual RF test range ever, says DARPA
NewsAugust 12, 2025
ARLINGTON, Va. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Digital RF Battlespace Emulator (DRBE) program announced that it built the world’s largest high-fidelity, real-time virtual radio-frequency (RF) test range, saying that it enables previously unachievable scale and realism in the emulation of EW scenarios.
The DARPA announcement states that -- differently from traditional modeling, simulation, and open-air testing approaches -- the DRBE system enables the complex interaction of synthetic RF entities simultaneously, all within a fully software-defined environment, which gives users a powerful new tool for testing artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled electronic warfare (EW) capabilities and accelerates the development of next-generation RF systems.
Anna Tauke-Pedretti, Ph.D, DRBE program manager in DARPA’s Microsystems Technology Office, said of the range: “DRBE is a leap forward in how we can prepare and equip RF systems against sophisticated adversaries. DRBE is not only setting a new benchmark for real-time simulation but is also accelerating our ability to develop and refine advanced electronic warfare capabilities that keep pace with emerging threats.”’
The core of DRBE is a real-time high-performance wafer-scale computing architecture, or real-time high-performance computer (HPC) powered by the world’s largest processor. The HPC gives the emulator massive throughput with ultra-low latency, which is critical for simulating complex RF engagements with the timing precision needed for modern EW tactics.
The first DRBE system is expected toi transition to a U.S. Navy lab in late 2025, where it will be integrated into the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) testing and evaluation infrastructure.
