PPM Systems specialises in products for government and military sectors, supplying fully customised RF systems designed to address customer-specific SIGINT and COMINT requirements including:

• RF over fibre optic solutions
• Antenna solutions up to 40 GHz
• RF filters and signal conditioning components up to 40 GHz with high power
• Signal capture and baseband processing hardware
• Complex RF signal analysis and simulation equipment.

PPM Systems recognises the frequent need to support tight timescales and offers a highly responsive service – from fast prototyping to advice on choosing the best technology. The company also has extensive experience in supporting applications requiring high levels of data security.

RF over Fibre Systems

The transmission of RF signals over optical fibre allows secure antenna links with significantly lower loss than co-axial, electrical, equivalents. They can be used in in defence, force protection and homeland security applications such as:

• VSAT / satellite communications wideband signal transfer
• Command and control / tracking and telemetry (TT&C) information distribution
• Surveillance & signal intelligence (SIGINT)
• Waveform agnostic tactical radio links (VLF, HF, VHF, UHF, SHF, GSM)
• IED detection and force protection antenna remoting or tethered solutions
• Secure network data centre timing and GPS/GNSS data distribution
• OEM military equipment.

Advantages of RF over Fibre

We frequently integrate our core fibre optic transmission and reception technology with third-party systems. Carrying RF signals over fibre has many advantages including:

• No signal loss or degradation
• Exceptionally wide bandwidth
• Frequency and modulation agnostic
• Providing a non-galvanic connection
• Path length up to hundreds of km
• EMC & EMP resilience
• Multiplexing/combining with no intermodulation issues
• Higher Instantaneous Bandwidth (IBW) compared to digital transport schemes.

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Advanced RF Signal Processing and Channel Emulators

PPM Systems is a value-added distributor of IZT products, including multi format GNSS signal generation equipment, full spectrum record and replay simulators and multichannel signal emulation. The products address existing and emerging markets such as:

• Multichannel LEO/MEO satellite constellation simulation
• Complex radio systems such as MANET and MESH MIMO
• RF simulation for testing Modems/COMINT/SIGINT systems
• RF spectrum analysis using recorded and simulated RF environments.

Software-Defined Radio Systems

Software-Defined Radio (SDR) is becoming the dominant technology in radio communications, with many advantages over more traditional radio systems, including:

• Wider operating ranges
• High instantaneous bandwidth
• Increased operating freedom
• Reduced total cost of ownership.

PPM Systems manufactures the Crossbow multi-role SDR scanning/decoding system, designed to provide special operations users with actionable, real-time, mission-critical data on the electromagnetic environment.

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Antennas

PPM Systems provides antennas for a range of defence applications, including communications, jamming, spoofing and threat-emissions. Antenna bandwidths range from 2 MHz to 40 GHz in static, vehicle and manpack configurations, including aviation rated antennas.

Complex antenna solutions for radar simulation applications can provide high power RF handling with multiple bands, in extremely demanding environmental conditions. PPM Systems can design and manufacture bespoke antennas to meet specific requirements.

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RF Filtering and Conditioning

PPM Systems offers bespoke filter solutions for satellite communication, military and other sectors using a range of filtering technologies. We can provide individual filters or a complete solution–system integration, as well as filter design, test, evaluation and manufacture.

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Antenna Remoting

FORAX (Fibre Optic Remote Antenna eXtension) radio communications equipment provides RF over fibre connectivity between radio equipment and its antennas. The products incorporate advanced RF over fibre systems and innovative RF technologies for military, civil and industrial markets.

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Comrod Communications Group design and manufacture military antennas and antenna systems, tactical support masts, military power supplies and battery chargers to the defence communications market.

Military Vehicle Antennas

The Comrod range of military vehicle antennas are designed for use on modern in-service platforms including armoured or soft skin, metal chassis or composite, wheeled or tracked.

Tactical antennas cover the military frequency bands of HF, VHF, UHF and L1/L2 GPS.  Comrod also has an extensive range of wideband and multiband antennas covering both VHF and UHF in the 30-2500 MHz band. 

High power antennas are available which are suitable for both military communications and IED jamming applications.

Military Manpack Antennas

The Comrod range of tactical manpack antennas are suitable for handheld and man-portable applications covering HF, VHF and UHF frequency bands (1.6MHz to 2500MHz).

Consultation with Radio OEMs and users enables us to optimise the product to meet the customer’s specific requirement.

Manpack antennas can be supplied using helical, tape or folding whip construction and are available with a flexible gooseneck or spring assembly and antenna matching unit (AMU). 

Variants are also available with integrated GPS antennas.

Tactical Base Station Antennas

Comrod has an extensive range of tactical ground and remote antennas covering the HF, VHF and UHF frequency bands up to power ratings of 1KW.

The military specification HF ranges of products include omni-directional antennas with ground planes and HF broadband wire dipole antennas covering 2-30MHz.

In the VHF band we have elevated omni-directional end fed antennas with ground planes as well as elevated centre fed antennas.

For directional point to point and line of sight communications we have log periodic antennas in the 30-88MHz and 30-512MHz bands and for wide area networks we have a radio relay antennas covering band 1, band 3+ and band IV frequencies in both grid and dish configurations.

All tactical base station antenna products can be supplied with adaptors to fit the Comrod series of military support masts.

Telescopic, Sectional and Sleeve Masts

Comrod has a complete range of tactical support masts from lightweight manpack up to heavy duty motorised versions. The tactical man-pack mast range is simple to erect, cost effective and ideally suited for light omni-directional and wire antennas up to 9metres in height. The ULM and MLV sleeve tripod masts are primarily ground mounted systems ideally suited for heavier head loads, elevating tactical base station antennas including line of sight antennas up to 40metres. 

The composite telescopic push up mast series can be used to elevate light head loads up to 12 metres and be ground or vehicle mounted. The pneumatic telescopic mast series is constructed of aluminium sections and is erected using a foot-pump or compressor. It is ideally suited to supporting our tactical base station antennas up to heights of 18 metres.

The winch driven composite telescopic mast series is suited to supporting heavier head loads up to heights of 34 metres.
This series can be ground mounted or vehicle mounted using vehicle specific brackets.

Military Power Supplies and
Battery Chargers

The Comrod range of power supplies and battery charging products have been designed and manufactured using state of the art technology and fully meet Mil Std/EMC/TREE requirements.

The product range covers chargers for handheld radio batteries up to vehicle installed stabilised power supplies for sensitive electronic equipment.

The Comrod range of rack mounted power supplies are designed for optimum adaptation to weak power sources such as portable generators.

Military Shipboard Antennas

Comrod has a large range of antennas specifically designed for use on military marine craft ranging from rigid inflatable’s up to large naval vessels operating in the HF, VHF and UHF bands.