The Communications and Electromagnetic Systems (CEMS) Laboratory at Rubikon Applied Defense Labs is focused on the design, development, and integration of advanced communication and electromagnetic technologies that enable secure, reliable, and high-performance operations across all defense domains. The laboratory’s mandate encompasses signal transmission, reception, and processing, electromagnetic spectrum management, electronic protection, and system resilience under contested or degraded operational conditions. Its work ensures that defense platforms and networks maintain operational connectivity, situational awareness, and coordination even in environments characterized by interference, jamming, or adversarial electronic activity.
The CEMS Laboratory addresses a broad range of technical challenges, including secure communications architecture, adaptive waveform design, frequency management, signal encryption, interference mitigation, and real-time monitoring of electromagnetic environments. The laboratory also develops methods for integration with sensor systems, navigation frameworks, and platform-level command and control networks, ensuring that communications capabilities are fully harmonized with the broader system architecture. Each solution is subjected to rigorous simulation, modeling, and experimental evaluation to confirm resilience, efficiency, and operational suitability under both nominal and stressed conditions.
A critical focus of the laboratory is electromagnetic spectrum awareness and management. CEMS evaluates both friendly and adversarial electromagnetic activity, develops strategies for spectrum optimization, and implements safeguards to maintain the integrity, availability, and confidentiality of mission-critical communications. This includes research on anti-jamming techniques, low-probability-of-intercept signaling, and adaptive network routing that preserve operational effectiveness in contested environments. By integrating analysis, modeling, and practical engineering, the laboratory ensures that communication systems operate with predictable performance across diverse operational scenarios.
The laboratory also supports cross-disciplinary collaboration with Defense Systems Engineering, Sensing, Navigation, and Perception, and Advanced Software and Cyber Systems laboratories. This integration ensures that communications and electromagnetic considerations are embedded in system design, software functionality, and mission planning, resulting in platforms that are technically coherent, operationally resilient, and strategically aligned. The laboratory’s work reinforces the principle that secure, reliable, and high-performance communications are foundational to modern defense capabilities and decision-making.
Through its rigorous approach to system design, spectrum analysis, and operational validation, the CEMS Laboratory embodies Rubikon Applied Defense Labs’ commitment to delivering technically robust, strategically relevant, and operationally reliable communications and electromagnetic solutions. Its efforts support secure connectivity, mission success, and resilient operations, ensuring that all systems under development are capable of functioning effectively in highly dynamic and contested defense environments.
