Spotlight Q&A with Acie Vickers, CEO, Herrick Technology Laboratories, Inc.

JED: Since it was acquired in 2013, HTL has grown its product offerings and the markets it services. Can you tell me a little about HTL's story and how the company has evolved over the past decade?

Vickers: Dave Herrick and I have known each other since we worked Army EW programs at Vint Hill Farms in the 80s. Dave was at Sanders (now BAE), and I worked at PAR Technology, a small company in upstate NY. He formed HTL in 2000, and I went on to Watkins-Johnson before starting DRT in 1997. After the DRT gig ended, I bought into HTL in 2013 and we focused the company on applying SDR to peer/near-peer SIGINT/EW. We’ve grown the company from six employees in 2013 to over 120 in 2024 and have seen the market shift from focus on counter-terrorism to focus on peer/near-peer using an amazing explosion of new technologies.

JED: What are some of the main EW and SIGINT trends that are driving your product strategy?

Vickers: Everything is focused on peer/near-peer. Low SWaP-C is always important, even in legacy platforms. At our level (mostly tactical), we see more interest in EW (including situation awareness, threat warning, DF/geolocation, targeting and jamming/cyber), rather than SIGINT. Radar is an important target. We believe the future is autonomous, low-SWaP-C sensors that can get up in the air and/or close to the target, but we still have to support the legacy platforms/programs.

JED: What are some of the latest small-form factor transceivers that HTL has introduced, and what makes them competitive in the EW and SIGINT market?

Vickers: Our existing line of low SWaP-C radios continue to do well. We have just rolled out the HTLs2, a 2-channel transceiver that weighs less than 2 pounds and consumes around 20 Watts, yet still provides high performance against comms and radar. All of our transceivers are superhet-based, which is still a must for dense, realistic EW signal environments. We also provide ample signal processing resources and associated applications, as well as a developers kit that supports third-party development. We have had 18 GHz (now 20 GHz) frequency coverage from the start, and all products are full blown transceivers to support EW. Also, in 2025 we will roll out our own DF2020 small DF head, which will cover 20 MHz to 20 GHz and offer dual polarization, allowing us to prosecute vertical and/or horizontal (radar) polarized signals simultaneously.

JED: HTL also offers 3U VPX modules, chassis, and DF antennas and other mission peripherals. Can you describe some of these products and how they fit into your product strategy?

Vickers: Our 3U VPX SOSA/CMOSS product line parallels our tactical radio line. We also offer DF antennas, amplifiers, RFDs, recorders and other peripherals to support integrated systems. We have a converter that takes our transceivers to 44 GHz. These products support our system offerings, as well as customers who want to integrate their own systems using proven building blocks.

JED: Does HTL develop most of the software for its systems or does it also work with third-party developers?

Vickers: HTL develops its own software targeted towards conventional and spread spectrum comms, as well as radar, but we also provide a developer’s kit that supports development on our platform. We also have a proven streaming (RX and TX) application that many customers use to run their own applications on an external computer/server.

JED: HTL also offers full mission solutions. Can you tell me more about your HPACK ES/EA system?

Vickers: The HPack incorporates our HTLx-T2 transceiver with a DF2 or DF3 DF head and tablet or laptop. We have also added a number of amplifier and antenna options to support electronic attack. It is effective against conventional and spread spectrum targets. We’re about to roll out a version of the system using our recently introduced HTLs2 transceiver, which will reduce SWaP considerably. 

JED: What are some of the major goals for HTL over the next few years?

Vickers: We want to drive the SWaP-C and signal processing further. The goal is to provide a sensor that provides amazing capability but fits on a Group 1 UAS. We’re also working the super high performance, but still low SWaP-C products for larger platforms. Edge computing and autonomy will be part of our offering.