Release Date: April 15, 2026 | Original Link: https://militaryembedded.com/radar-ew/signal-processing/product-of-the-week-annapolis-micro-systems-wildstar-3ae1-3u-openvpx-direct-rf
This week, Military Embedded—a specialized media outlet covering military embedded systems—featured Annapolis Micro Systems’ WILDSTAR 3AE1 (WS3AE1) 3U OpenVPX Direct RF board as its Product of the Week. Equipped with 100 GbE networking support and built around the Intel Altera Agilex 9 MCP2 Direct RF family AGRW027 FPGA, the WS3AE1 integrates high-performance processing with analog-to-digital (ADC) and digital-to-analog (DAC) conversion capabilities. Designed specifically for mission-critical military sensor processing applications, it delivers ultra-low latency and full compliance with the Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) Technical Standard.
I. Core Performance Foundation
The WS3AE1 board delivers high-performance signal processing, integrating four 64 GSps, 10-bit A/D and D/A converter channels. It also offers rich backend customization options—including compatibility with Jetson AGX Orin GPU/CPU processing units—and ships with a dedicated development kit to support scenario-specific custom development.
II.SOSAStandard Compatibility Features
This SOSA-compliant Plug-in Card (PIC) deeply integrates ultra-high-sampling-rate ADC/DAC functionality directly into the FPGA. Its Agilex RF-series FPGA provides eight A/D and D/A converter channels, each supporting 64 GSps sampling rate and 10-bit resolution—meeting demanding wideband RF signal processing requirements.
The board features up to two analog interface mezzanine sites, enabling integration of Annapolis’ WAIM00 RF cards—or third-party/custom-designed RF cards—to implement front-end customization (e.g., pre-filtering or analog conditioning), offering flexible adaptation to diverse military sensor, radar, and electronic warfare (EW) target applications.
III. General Hardware Specifications
• Primary Controller: One Intel Agilex Direct RF-series AGRW027 FPGA (alternative configurations available; contact manufacturer for specific part numbers)
• Logic Resources: 2.7 million logic elements, 17,056 18×19 multipliers, 287 MB embedded memory, integrated quad-core ARM processor
• Transceivers: Supports 58G PAM-4 and 32G NRZ XCVR
• Interface Adaptation: Supports up to two Annapolis (WAIM00) or third-party/custom analog interface cards for RF conditioning
• Mechanical Standard: Compliant with 3U OpenVPX (VITA 65); supports 1-inch VITA 48.1/48.2 or 1.5-inch VITA 48.8 (AFT) pitch
• Configuration Compatibility: Supports OpenVPX payload profile SLT3-PAY-1F1U1S1S1U1U2F1H-14.6.11-n (SOSA primary configuration)
• Supporting Tools: Optional dedicated development kit; Annapolis BSP includes 40/100 GbE IP cores and Linux OS support
IV. Environmental Adaptability
The board is engineered for harsh military operating environments, featuring wide-temperature operation and multiple thermal management options:
• Operating Temperature: Supports 85°C ambient air temperature / board-edge cooling; minimum cold-start operating temperature of −55°C
• Storage Temperature: Wide-range storage from −55°C to +105°C
• Thermal Management: Compatible with air-cooling, forced-air cooling, and conduction-cooling solutions
V.WILD100Ecosystem Support
The WS3AE1 belongs to Annapolis’ WILD100 product ecosystem. The majority of products within this ecosystem comply with the SOSA Technical Standard and support the C5ISR/EW Modular Open Standards Suite (CMOSS).
This ecosystem comprises an interoperable set of ruggedized, high-performance OpenVPX Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) boards and systems, fully addressing demanding data acquisition, digital signal processing (DSP), and data storage application requirements. It delivers standardized, interoperable hardware solutions for military radar, electronic warfare (EW), and C5ISR applications.
For access to the complete WS3AE1 datasheet, information on compact form-factor products with equivalent sampling rates, Annapolis’ SOSA-compatible ecosystem, OpenVPX 3U solutions, Intel FPGA-based boards, and development tools, please visit the original link above.
(Compiled and edited from publicly available internet sources for reference only; views expressed herein do not represent the stance of this official account.)
