, /PRNewswire/ — Spectrum Control, a leader in RF miniaturization and RF+Digital™ integration, announces its 16-channel DirectRF+™ Wideband Direct Sampling Transceiver in 3U VPX was recognized among the best technology solutions by the 2026 MAE Innovators Awards, sponsored by Military + Aerospace Electronics, an Endeavor B2B brand. An independent panel of industry judges recognized Spectrum Control as a Platinum honoree, the highest award possible.
The 2026 MAE Innovators Awards celebrates outstanding innovation in defense and aerospace for the engineering industry. Every year, Endeavor B2B, through the MAE Innovators Awards, showcases and rewards companies, designers, and innovators who have contributed to the advancement of technology through their creative and impactful designs. 2026 MAE Innovators Award winners are selected by the qualified judging panel chosen by the editorial staff at Military + Aerospace Electronics.
DirectRF+ Earns Platinum as Complete Direct-Sampling Card
The Platinum award recognizes a superb innovation that is a groundbreaking approach to meeting a need, or a new level of performance, efficiency, or ease of use. Direct signal sampling is being adopted across defense systems for two reasons. First, it shortens the time from signal to response. Second, it shrinks system footprint by placing the data converters and edge processing in the same location.
Spectrum Control has been developing that RF-and-digital boundary before the RF+Digital brand. The approach reflects what the market shift actually demands. Edge systems are moving to smaller, standardized footprints while becoming more capable and more complex. Mission needs are pushing wideband sampling beyond the traditional 2 GHz – 18 GHz, toward 32 GHz and above. Channel counts are rising sharply, because more channels in less space means hardware that is more compact and more closely aligned to the mission.
DirectRF+™ brings that vision to a single card. The data converters are only part of the challenge; clocking, power, I/O and the RF front end still have to be engineered, and they usually arrive as separate decisions spread across a baseboard, mezzanine and integrator’s bench. DirectRF+ integrates everything for wideband, 16-channel, high-speed direct sampling on a single SOSA-aligned 3U VPX card. It implements the full capability of Altera Agilex® 9 AGRW027, including all of its I/O, an on-board quad clock, on-board power management and a mission-configurable RF front end. Where other direct-sampling cards fix the front end on the baseboard, DirectRF+ puts it on a configurable mezzanine, so the same card can be tailored to different missions and frequency plans without effecting the digital design.
About Spectrum Control
Spectrum Control provides high-reliability products for controlling the electromagnetic spectrum in mission-critical aerospace, defense, communications and industrial applications. Three things define the company as a supplier. It Innovates, bringing RF and digital together in RF+Digital™ building blocks like DirectRF+™ that remove integration work from the customer’s bench. It Adapts, with a portfolio spanning components, integrated microwave assemblies, subsystems and custom solutions, and modular designs that can be configured to the mission rather than redesigned for it. And it Delivers, with in-house design and manufacturing built for production, not just prototypes. Leading global companies and governments trust Spectrum Control to help design, engineer and build the systems that connect and protect our world.
Media Contact:
Patrick Brightman
3E Public Relations
[email protected]
SOURCE Spectrum Control
