Acquire. Transport. Record. Process. Protect. Display & Analyze.
This guide is a side-by-side comparison of the recording products across all three Delta Information Systems companies: Ampex Data Systems, Wideband Systems, and GDP Space Systems. It is designed to show the differences between each company’s recorders, where they overlap, and how to match the right product to the right requirement.
No single company in the defense recording market covers the full spectrum from air to archive, Delta Information Systems does. Through Ampex, Wideband, and GDP, DIS fields recorders at every point in the data chain: IP telemetry streams on the test range, multi-interface and RF signals at the ground station, flight test instrumentation on the aircraft, and mission-critical data at the tactical edge including EW/ISR, EO/IR, radar, bus data, health and diagnostics, and compressed/uncompressed video across airborne, maritime, land, and space domains, plus 100 Gbps+ collection on the ground for the Intelligence Community.
Operational Domain Overview
| Ampex Data Systems | Wideband Systems | GDP Space Systems | |
| Headquarters | Hayward, CA | Silver Spring, MD | Horsham, PA |
| Primary Domain | Mission Segment (Airborne + Ground) | Test Range (Ground) & Mission Segment (Launch + Satellite Data Downlinks) | Test Range (Ground) |
| Core Competency | Rugged Airborne NFS Recording + Ultra High Speed Ground Collection | Multi-Interface Telemetry + RF Recording | Ethernet/IP Telemetry Recording |
| Key Customers | DoD Weapon System Programs, Intelligence Community | DoD Ranges, Satellite & Rocket Launch Facilities, Major Primes, Integrators worldwide, Intelligence Community | DoD Ranges, Satellite & Rocket Launch Facilities, Major Primes, Integrators worldwide |
| Installed Base | Several flight test platforms, numerous ACAT I mission platforms | Thousands of systems at major TM sites globally | Multiple satellite launch and test range facilities |
| Control Software | Ampex Common Compute Environment (ACCE) | WSI Native User Interface GUI | GDP TRMS (Telemetry Range Management Software) |
Portfolio Capability Comparison
| Capability | Ampex Data Systems | Wideband Systems | GDP Space Systems |
| Primary Mission | Airborne mission recording + ground high-speed collection | Range telemetry + RF recording | Range Ethernet/IP stream recording |
| Product Portfolio | 10 product families (miniRv2, TuffCORD/X, CAR, TuffLITE, TuffServ 282/480v2/540/640v2, TRS 380, TRS-X, SmartDock), RF Recorder | DRS8000 Series (4 models), DRS9000 Series (2 models) | Model 3500 |
| Environment | Full MIL-STD-810/461, airborne + ground (-40 to 71°C, 14 grms vibe, 20g shock) | Rack mount, ground Operational: 5 to 50°C Non-Operational: -25 to +65°C | Rack mount, ground (0 to 45°C) |
| Data Rate Range | 200 MB/s to 100 Gbps | Up To 10Gbps | 800 Mb/s |
| Storage Range | 512 GB to 300+ TB (virtually unlimited via daisy-chain) | Up to 32 TB | Up to 53 TB |
| Weight Range | 2 to 40 lbs | 15 to 55 lbs | 20 lbs |
| Power | 9W to 125W (28 VDC airborne) 115/220 VAC (ground) | 110/220V AC, 200 to 450W | 120/240V AC, 130W |
| Signal Types | Ethernet, SDI, DVI, MPEG2/H.264, Serial, EW/ISR, EOIR, Bus Data | Analog, Digital PCM, IF, RF, Video, Ethernet, Serial, MIL-STD-1553, ARINC 429…and more | Ethernet (IP packets only) |
| RF Recording | No | Yes: 100MHz to 6GHz | No |
| Interface Flexibility | Slice-based modular I/O + network-centric NFS/CIFS | 27+ swappable Interface Boards (IFBs) | Fixed: 2x 10GbE + 2x 1GbE |
| Recording Format / Data Interfaces | IRIG-106 Ch 10/11, Ch 7 PCM output, IRIG Ch 24 & 26, PCAP, PCAPnG, PTP 1588, NFS/CIFS, compressed and uncompressed video, sFPDP, bus data (1553, CAN, ARINC-429, RS-422) | Record in: IRIG-106 Ch 10 Native | Record in: IRIG-106 Ch 10 Native Interfaces: IRIG 218, IRIG 106 Ch 10/11, MISB |
| Encryption | AES-256, FIPS-140, CSfC, Turnstile, NSA Type-1 High Assurance | AES-256, FIPS-140-2 | AES-256, FIPS 140-2 |
| Removable Storage | Purpose-built RMMs with SmartDock key management station | Dual removable diskbanks (striped/mirrored) | Optional removable HDD, Diskless OS, and Storage Option Available |
| OS / Software | RHEL + ACCE framework | Windows 10 SHB / Windows 11 SHB / Windows 10 Platform IT + Red Hat Linux FPGA | RHEL 9.1 + GDP TRMS |
| Control | ACCE GUI, NFS/CIFS shares, web interface | Touch screen, KVM, remote API | Web browser, CLI, TRMS-RMS |
| AI/ML Edge Compute | Yes (TuffServ 640v2) | No | No |
| When to Choose | Rugged airborne/edge recording, secure removable media, or 100+ Gbps ground ingest | Complex multi-interface telemetry or RF band capture, secure removable media | 24/7 IP stream recording at the range |
“Which Recorder?” Decision Guide
| Your Need | Best Fit | Why |
| 24/7 IP telemetry stream recording on the range | GDP Model 3500 | Purpose-built for TMoIP/VoIP/Video-over-IP with TRMS integration, lowest cost, highest reliability for continuous ops |
| Multi-interface telemetry recording with analog, PCM, IF, video | Wideband DRS8000 Series | Up to 7 swappable IFBs, 27+ interface board options, supports every telemetry signal type on the range |
| Capture entire RF bands directly off the antenna | Wideband DRS9300X / 9300X-MB | Direct RF recording up to 10Gbps, 100MHz – 6GHz Frequency Band Range, 16-bit ADC with 80+ dB AGC. The MB variant tunes across bands dynamically |
| Flight test data acquisition on aircraft (Ch 10) | Ampex miniRv2 | 4.6 lbs, fully modular I/O, IRIG 106 Ch 10 native, survives -40 to 71°C and 14 grms vibration |
| Rugged airborne NFS mission recording (EW/ISR) | Ampex TuffServ Family (282, 480v2, 540, 640v2) | Scalable from 200 MB/s to 3 GB/s NFS, 2 lbs to 30 lbs, 16 TB to 300 TB, MIL-STD-810 qualified |
| SWaP-constrained pods and small platforms | Ampex TuffLITE | 2.5 lbs, 1.28 in tall, 10GbE interface, up to 8 TB detachable storage, 35W, built for tight spaces with strict size/weight/power limits |
| Lowest cost attritable/expendable recorder | Ampex CAR | 2 lbs, 9W, low cost point, perfect for drones and expendable ground vehicles |
| Ultra-high speed ground collection (100 Gbps) | Ampex TRS-X | 100 Gbps sustained, 90 TB/hr on dual channels, daisy-chainable storage, built for Intelligence Community |
| Post-mission data download with encryption key management | Ampex SmartDock | 2.5 Gb/s download station, supports miniRv2 and TuffCORD RMMs, built-in FIPS/CSfC key management GUI |
Together, GDP Space Systems, Wideband Systems, and Ampex Data Systems give programs a recorder portfolio that can follow data from the test range to the tactical edge and all the way into long-term ground archives. Whether you need 24/7 IP stream capture, multi-interface and RF recording on the range, rugged airborne mission storage, or ultra-high speed ground collection, there is a purpose-built option in the Delta Information Systems family, rather than a one-size-fits-all compromise. Use this guide as a starting point to narrow in on the right fit, then reach out to our team to talk through your specific requirements so we can match the recorder to your mission.