Case Study: BAE SYSTEMS CNIR achieves rapid, lower-cost development of on-the-move antenna pointing and stabilization with MathWorks tools

BAE SYSTEMS CNIR Develops On-the-Move Antenna Pointing and Stabilization System

BAE Systems faced an urgent challenge to design and implement an on‑the‑move antenna pointing and stabilization system for WIN‑T radios that would maintain links under severe disturbances, but their control hardware was delayed and they had only a four‑month deadline. The team used MathWorks products—including Simulink, Stateflow, Control System Toolbox, Simulink Coder, Embedded Coder, and Simulink Real‑Time—to model the plant, develop control algorithms, and prepare for real‑time prototyping and deployment.

MathWorks tools allowed BAE Systems to automatically generate ANSI‑C controller code, run the controller in real time on prototype hardware, and validate performance on a six‑degree‑of‑freedom motion table and in vehicle field tests—meeting the four‑month target with just two people. By using MathWorks for automatic code generation and simulation, BAE Systems eliminated hand coding and redundant tests, reduced development time (recouping the tool investment), streamlined documentation, and delivered field‑ready control software for Army testing.

BAE Systems

Sam Nazari

Systems Engineer