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Aerospace & Defense
Radar
High-performance FPGA SoCs for real-time radar signal capture, processing, beamforming, tracking.
Radar Processing at the Edge
Radar systems face rising data rates, demanding adaptability, more dynamic target environment, and harsh operating environments that push conventional designs to their limits. Altera FPGAs integrate high-speed data converters, digital signal processing, and high-speed transceivers in one compact device.
Agilex 9 Direct RF FPGAs combine ADC/DAC, digital beamforming, and wideband channelization on a single device, helping teams shrink radar front ends and transmit/receive modules into a single card. Reconfigurable logic keeps systems durable and mission-ready as bandwidth and tracking requirements evolve, from Agilex 5 through Agilex 9.
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The Challenges, and Why FPGA
The Challenge
Rising Bandwidth & Data Rates
Modern radar must digitize and process waveforms with increasing bandwidths and complexity without compromising on system size or power.
Why FPGA
Direct RF Sampling
Agilex 9 Direct RF integrates ADC/DAC with programmable fabric, removing a discrete converter stages required by IF sampling systems.
The Challenge
Real-Time Multi-Target Tracking
Digital beamforming and simultaneous target tracking demands deterministic, low-latency, high throughput compute.
Why FPGA
Parallel, Deterministic Logic
Deterministic, low-latency, hardware-parallel processing delivers the radar data cube processing performance modern radar systems require.
The Challenge
Harsh Environments & Long Life
Radar hardware must survive extreme conditions and stay in service for decades.
Why FPGA
Reconfigurable, Rugged Silicon
Deliver resilient solutions on devices built for long-lifecycle defense programs with ruggedized package and MIL-TEMP options.
Why Altera
Direct RF Sampling
With sampling rates up to 64 GSPS, Agilex 9 Direct RF removes the discrete converter stage between antenna and the ADC.
Scalable Across the Portfolio
The Agilex portfolio shares common tools and IP, so designs scale from the edge to large array processing clusters.
Size, Weight, and Power Reduction
Customers have used Agilex 9 Direct RF to shrink refrigerator-sized radar hardware to a single card.
Deployable Hardware Ecosystem
SOSA-aligned 3U VPX cards, small form factor, and rugged system-on-modules enable faster time to market.
Get Started
More Aerospace & Defense Applications
Electronic Warfare (EW)
Reconfigurable FPGA solutions for low-latency, deterministic, and wideband electronic support, protection, and attack modalities.
Secure Communication
Software-defined, SWaP-optimized FPGAs for secure, tamper-resistant military communications.
Avionics
Powering Safer, Smarter Avionics with DO-254-Capable FPGAs. Enabling high-performance cockpit displays, sensor fusion, and mission-critical computing.
Drones & UAVs
Powering Safer, Smarter Avionics with DO-254-Capable FPGAs. Enabling high-performance cockpit displays, sensor fusion, and mission-critical computing.
Precision-Guided Munitions
Scalable FPGAs from Group 1 to Group 5 unmanned systems and decoy platforms
Common Questions
FPGAs combine parallel, deterministic processing with digital signal-processing resources and high-speed interfaces. These capabilities address rising radar data rates and low-latency processing requirements while supporting hardware that can adapt as system needs evolve.
The Agilex® 9 Direct RF-Series combines high-speed ADCs and DACs with programmable FPGA fabric. This brings conversion and digital processing together in a compact platform for radar applications. Explore Direct RF sampling with Agilex® 9 FPGAs
An integrated Direct RF architecture places data converters and programmable fabric in a single device rather than relying on a separate discrete converter stage. This approach supports compact system architectures and helps address size, weight, and power requirements.
DSP Builder, along with FPGA AI Suite and Platform Designer, provides software resources for radar platforms. These tools are supported by development hardware and reference materials for FPGA signal-processing evaluation. Explore DSP Builder for FPGA signal processing
Available radar resources include FPGA products, development hardware, software tools, and reference-design collateral. Common tools and IP support Agilex® 5, Agilex® 7, and Agilex® 9 devices, providing a starting point for reviewing device integration and platform evaluation materials. Explore FPGA radar design resources