Spectrum Management Tools

SENTEL has been a leader in the development of automated spectrum management and radio frequency (RF) engineering systems for nearly 20 years. The Navy’s primary automated spectrum management system is the Afloat Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations Program (AESOP). SENTEL is the sole developer of this application, as well as its predecessor applications, the Communications Planning Module (CPM) and the Electromagnetic Compatibility Analysis Program (EMCAP). Deployed aboard U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and allied combatant vessels, AESOP is a sophisticated interactive program used to coordinate radar, electronic warfare, communications, navigational aids, and other frequencies.

In addition to AESOP, CPM, and EMCAP, SENTEL developed a wide variety of spectrum management tools for the Department of Defense (DoD), including the Joint Terrain Analysis Program (JTAP), for the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) and the Army’s National Training Center (NTC) in Fort Irwin, California. SENTEL also developed the Communications Coverage Area Planning System (COMCAPS) for the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD). These applications allow users to plan communications and radar coverage using integrated radiowave propagation models to graphically display on a map background where a communications system will work and where radio targets of various Radar cross sections (RCSs) can be detected.

SENTEL also developed tools to allow shore-based frequency managers to perform their day-to-day activities. The Automated Spectrum Planning, Engineering, Coordination, and Tracking System (ASPECTS) Frequency Management Module (FMM) was developed for SPAWAR specifically for use by Navy and Marine Corps frequency managers. SENTEL developed the Joint Spectrum Management System (JSMS) for Joint Task Force (JTF) frequency managers. JSMS was the predecessor of the current DoD-wide frequency manager’s tool, SPECTRUM XXI. A large percentage of SPECTRUM XXI’s code base was taken directly from JSMS.

In addition, SENTEL developed the Spectrum Planning and Utilization Resource System (SPURS) to assist Navy planners by providing an interactive frequency allocation chart linked to a database of DoD RF equipment. SENTEL maintains a NATO version of AESOP, the NATO Electromagnetic Operations Programme (NEOP), for the U.S. Navy to provide to the NATO Naval Armaments Group (NNAG). SENTEL also developed portions of the Army’s Integrated System Control (ISYSCON) Battlefield Spectrum Management (BSM) software.