BAE Systems Partnership Sees Slipstream Engineering Design Skill Boom
03/12/2024
Working on smaller scale radar developments since its inception, Slipstream Design saw the BAE Systems project has been Slipstream Design’s most technically complex development, facilitating a step change in its radar capabilities.
Slipstream Engineering Design (Slipstream Design) is a leading Digital RF R&D partner for global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and ambitious Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) alike.
From humble beginnings as a garage start-up just 14 years ago, Slipstream Design has organically grown into a dynamic high growth SME based in the north of England. Offering Digital RF R&D engineering services the company has also developed Commercially-Available Off the Shelf (COTS) RF System on Modules (SoMs) for digital beam forming applications.
As Slipstream Design’s first contract with BAE Systems, the demonstrator has been a major boost to the company’s standing, seeing it engage with top radar experts. As a direct result, Slipstream Design has been able to increase its team by 20%, double the footprint of our high tech R&D facility and ensured the business could provide 31% of our team with ‘earn and learn’ opportunities. Last year our revenues grew by 34%, off the back of sustained double digit growth for the last 6 years.
Despite challenges in attracting talent to the Radio Frequency and Radar sectors, Slipstream Design is defying trends by nurturing the next generation of diverse electronic engineers, revitalising the RF scene in the north and paving the way for prosperous growth.
The insight provided by working at this level of radar development has allowed Slipstream Design to confidently step forwards with its own product developments. The result is a custom off the shelf (COTS) RF System on Module product, ASTRO.
ASTRO is an ultra-low-SWaP multifunctional Radio Processor that offers compact RF digitisation. Its wideband design and interoperability allow seamless switching between radar and modulated communication waveforms, enabling multifunctional operations in environments where cutting-edge adaptability is prized.
With applications in across sectors such as Quantum computing, telecommunications and space, the BAE Systems partnership is directly stimulating an ambitious SME to accelerate the pace of its service and product innovation for cross fertilisation gain.