NxGenComm Launches the MEW-1 'Barn Owl,' a Best-in-Class AI-Powered Wideband Spectrum Intelligence System
Software-defined electronic warfare receiver delivers ultra-wideband capture, onboard signal classification, and highly accurate direction finding
MORRISVILLE, NC, UNITED STATES, June 2, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- NxGenComm today introduced the MEW-1 (“Barn Owl”), a compact, software-defined electronic warfare and spectrum-intelligence system designed to see, identify, and locate radio emissions across a broad frequency range in real time. The MEW-1 combines ultra-wideband instantaneous capture with onboard artificial-intelligence classification and precise direction finding in a deployable form factor.
Traditional electronic warfare receivers tune across the spectrum one slice at a time, often missing brief or agile signals such as frequency-hopping drone control links. The MEW-1 takes a fundamentally different approach: it digitizes the radio environment directly and processes the data stream in parallel, with no analog sweeping. The result is a sensor that can capture wide bandwidths in a single look and reliably detect fast frequency hoppers that conventional receivers miss.
“Modern adversaries hide in narrow gaps and short bursts. If your sensor is sweeping, you miss them. The Barn Owl doesn’t sweep, it sees the whole environment at once, decides what is important, and tells you where it came from. That changes what is possible in contested spectrum.”
- David Gross, Director Marketing, NxGenComm
Inside the MEW-1, raw signals are captures and analyzed with artificial intelligence to identify signal type against a library that includes commercial waveforms (5G NR, LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ADS-B) and defense (drone C2, jammer signatures, tactical radios including MANET) and computes direction of arrival using a hybrid method.
The MEW-1 ships with NxGenComm’s Phoenix Engine, the same artificial-intelligence software that runs across the company’s M5NS-JCP communications platform. The wideband RF-sensing capability that forms the core of the MEW-1 is also embedded in the M5NS-JCP family NxGenComm and the underlying platform were featured in Forbes in March 2026.
The MEW-1 supports a wide frequency range (options include 5 MHz-6 GHz and even up to 12 GHz) with multiple configurations available to cover the operational bands customers need. It captures up to 800 MHz of total instantaneous bandwidth, configurable either as two parallel 400 MHz receive channels or as four parallel 200 MHz receive channels - providing visibility to a broad slice of spectrum at once or maintain simultaneous awareness across multiple bandwidths of interest. The system supports omnidirectional or direction-finding antenna arrays, records spectrum in the open SigMF format, integrates natively with the Team Awareness Kit (TAK) used by U.S. forces, and protects data in flight with AES-256 and ML-KEM 1024 post-quantum encryption. It is managed through NxGenComm’s NXGScan user interface, with waterfall, three-dimensional, and spectrogram displays for live spectrum visualization.
Mountable variants are planned for unmanned aircraft, fixed masts, and backpack-portable use.
The MEW-1 is available now for customers and qualified commercial partners. Pricing and configuration details are available on request.
About NxGenComm
NxGenComm LLC, headquartered in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, builds software-defined communications, sensing, and electronic warfare platforms for defense and commercial operators. The company’s M5NS-JCP product family and Phoenix Engine artificial-intelligence software consolidate private 5G transport, electronic warfare, sensor fusion, and autonomous asset control onto a single, NDAA-compliant platform. Learn more at www.nxgencomm.com.
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