In an age of aerial warfare teeming with new technologies, federal laboratories and small businesses are collaborating to improve safety measures for pilots of American warfighters.

Imagine, if you can, being a pilot forced to eject over harsh terrain or hostile territory. In your survival kit is parts to a battery-free, easy-to-assemble geodesic device that can hasten your recovery discreetly. A partnership between the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane) and Ohio-based Airborne Outfitters in 2020 made that a reality.

Airborne Outfitters, a small, veteran-owned business agreed to finish development of a polygonal asymmetric reflector originally invented by NSWC Crane’s Gerry Miller and James Stewart in 2015.

The device could passively transform radio waves from airborne emitters (like aircraft or unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs)) as they bounced off, creating a unique signal with a fractal antenna. So, in the event of an ejection, searchers could receive the returned signal, geolocate and authenticate a pilot’s position with low risk of enemy interference, and enhance their rescue mission.

The partnership between Airborne Outfitters and NSWC Crane led to the company’s creation of the Battlefield Reflector for Isolated Travelers Everywhere (BARFITE) technology. The initial invention was roughly the size of a beach ball, which Airborne Outfitters improved to roughly the size of a baseball, before learning to integrate flexible antennas into materials as thin as wristwatch bands and uniform patches.

BARFITE also improved upon the initial technology by becoming more granular in its long-range detection of UAVs. Recently, Airborne Outfitters was granted a no-fee government purpose license from NSWC Crane to further develop BARFITE for potential use by federal agencies.

Under this new agreement, Airborne Outfitters expects to improve the infrared and antenna technology with additional features that will increase the chance of positively identifying potential UAV hazards, hypothetically leading to even more accurate, timely, and discreet use in the event of a rescue or warfare situation.

The company is also pursuing an additional cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with NSWC Crane to create an ongoing partnership between Airborne Outfitters and lab inventors.

As military capabilities rapidly change with technological advancements like drones, Airborne Outfitters is working to give American warfighters the edge in every facet of warfare.