ECSAMS - bridging the gap from EC flightline test to backshop and laboratory support

The AN/USM-670 is the current standard in electronic combat (EC) system flight line level test - supporting a wide variety of EC systems across multiple platforms. In the lab, the test and maintenance of these same EC systems requires racks of stimulus and measurement instrumentation, and sophisticated operator knowledge of the stimulus and analysis requirements. Realizing that the USM-670 could be a useful (and cost-effective) asset in the lab environment, the question was posed: "How could the USM-670 hardware (and more importantly, the software) is modified to fill the needs of laboratory testing?" This paper will discuss the design evolution of the electronic combat stimulus and measurement system (ECSAMS), a set of rack mountable VME-based virtual instruments optimized for backshop / lab test and evaluation of EC systems including both the radar warning receivers and jamming countermeasures systems. Included will be a discussion of the hardware and software architecture, stimulus and measurement capabilities, and the user interface. To aide in the discussion - and to demonstrate ECSAMS capabilities and ease-of-use - several common EC test / measurement requirements will be presented, along with the ECSAMS solution. Examples will include: complex threat (stimulus) development; use of test scenarios; automated measurement of jamming techniques including range, velocity, amplitude modulation, and noise