Syracuse, NY, June 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SRC, Inc. (“SRC” or “Company”), a not-for-profit defense research and development organization, today announced the development of its next-generation Gen 3 Multi-Function Array (MFA) within the company’s Ghost Mantis® family of advanced sensing technologies.
The Gen 3 MFA effort follows the successful MQ-28A Ghost Bat Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) live-fire demonstration, which validated the performance of SRC’s Generic Multi-Function Array (GMFA), also known as Payload B. Building on this success, SRC is advancing the underlying architecture to expand the capabilities of the Ghost Mantis family of technologies and meet emerging operational needs for CCAs and distributed sensing networks.
The Gen 3 MFA introduces a suite of advanced sensing and electromagnetic capabilities enabled by an ultra-wideband, high-power multifunction array that delivers exquisite performance at a fraction of the cost of comparable systems. Capabilities under development include airborne moving target indicator (AMTI), ground moving target indicator (GMTI), synthetic aperture radar (SAR), RF emulation, sense-and-avoid, airborne weather monitoring, and AMS-GRA alignment. These capabilities are delivered through a scalable, ultra-wideband MFA architecture designed to support both sensing and effects across a broad portion of the RF spectrum.
Ghost Mantis technology has successfully integrated and demonstrated third-party skills on its existing MFA. Looking ahead to Gen 3, SRC is in active discussions with additional providers and remains committed to integrating new tactically relevant capabilities as part of the evolving architecture. SRC satisfies the requirements of a OTA non-traditional for cost-sharing purposes. The 2018 NDAA amended Section 2371b(d)(1)(A) of title 10, United States Code to include nonprofit research organizations to the criteria to be met under significant participation. As a result, SRC inherently satisfies the requirement for a “nonprofit research institution participating to a significant extent in the prototype project.”
SRC’s Gen 3 MFA development is also informed by the company’s long-standing leadership in Intelligence Mission Data (IMD) production and exploitation. For decades, SRC has supported the generation, validation, and operational use of authoritative threat data sources, including the Electronic Warfare Integrated Reprogramming Database (EWIRDB) - the U.S. Department of Defense’s primary repository for technical intelligence on foreign radar, communications, and electronic warfare systems. This deep expertise ensures that Ghost Mantis technology leverages the most accurate, mission-relevant intelligence available, enabling platforms to detect, classify, and respond to complex electromagnetic threats with high confidence. By grounding Gen 3 MFA capabilities in validated IMD and EWIRDB data, SRC provides operators with trusted, intelligence-driven situational awareness across the full spectrum of contested environments.
Ultra-wideband sensing is engineered to observe a significantly broader portion of the RF spectrum. When combined with AMTI, GMTI, and onboard IMD, the system enables aircraft to detect and track moving airborne and ground vehicles, vessels, and personnel while filtering out stationary ground clutter. Within the Ghost Mantis systems, these radar modes are fused with passive RF detection and onboard signal processing to sense, characterize, and help identify potential adversary activity in complex environments.
RF emulation capabilities in the Gen 3 MFA draw on validated IMD and authoritative models from the EWIRDB to accurately replicate blue and red emitters. By grounding its waveform generation and behavioral profiles in these trusted intelligence sources, the system can produce mission-representative RF signatures that reflect real-world emitter characteristics. This enables platforms to rehearse engagements, evaluate electronic protection techniques, and analyze adversary reactions with high confidence that the emulated environment mirrors operationally relevant system behavior.
Sense-and-avoid technologies enable unmanned aircraft to autonomously detect nearby traffic or obstacles and execute avoidance maneuvers. SRC has previously demonstrated related capabilities through ground-based systems such as GBSAA and the AN/TPQ-50 radar with air-surveillance software.
The Gen 3 architecture will also support airborne weather monitoring and the transmission of pilot weather reports (PIREPs) between mission aircraft. PIREPs provide real-time reporting of conditions such as turbulence, icing, and wind shear, enhancing situational awareness for pilots and mission operators.
“Collaborative combat aircraft and other autonomous systems will require a new level of awareness of both the physical battlespace and the electromagnetic environment,” said Kevin Hair, president and CEO of SRC, Inc. “With Ghost Mantis technology and our Gen 3 capabilities, we are expanding what airborne sensing systems can do to help platforms detect, understand and respond to threats in real time while operating safely and effectively alongside crewed aircraft.”
As military forces adopt autonomous systems, collaborative aircraft, and distributed sensing networks, the ability to detect, interpret, and respond to both physical and electromagnetic threats will become increasingly critical. SRC believes the continued evolution of Ghost Mantis will play a key role in enabling U.S. and allied forces to operate effectively in contested and complex environments.
Additional demonstrations and capability developments are planned as SRC continues to advance the architecture in support of next-generation air operations.
Key Highlights:
- Builds on the successful MQ-28A Ghost Bat live-fire demonstration that validated SRC's Generic Multi-function Array (GMFA) technology
- Ultrawideband architecture supports capabilities including AMTI, GMTI, SAR, RF emulation and sense-and-avoid operations
- Designed to help collaborative combat aircraft detect, classify and respond to threats across complex electromagnectic environments
About SRC
SRC, Inc. (@SRCDefense), a not-for-profit research and development company, combines information, science, technology and ingenuity to solve “impossible” problems in the areas of defense, environment and intelligence. Across a family of companies, SRC applies bright minds, fresh thinking and relentless determination to deliver innovative products and services that are redefining possible® for the challenges faced by America and its allies.
Since 1957, SRC's commitment to the customer and the best solution — not the bottom line — has remained a core value that guides its efforts. This passion for quality carries through to the technologies the company invents and manufactures, the laboratories and facilities it builds, the people they hire, and communities where they work. Today, more than 1,400 engineers, scientists and professionals work together at SRC to protect people, the environment and our way of life.
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Mike Jewett, Corporate Communications SRC, Inc. media@srcinc.com