Radar and Communication Phased Array Antennas
Communication and radar phased array antennas are extremely complex, in fact, they’re some of the most complicated antennas in existence. They need to be highly efficient to maximize range, and oftentimes require wide angle scanning to maximize the coverage volume of the system.
We have expertise in the design and fabrication of broadband, as well as wide scanning phased array antennas for communication and radar system applications. AOE radiating element technologies that are suitable for these applications include waveguide radiating elements, Vivaldi notch antenna elements, and low profile printed radiating elements.
Over the years we’ve worked on many different projects designing and developing high performance phased array antennas, including the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II fire control radar antenna apertures.
Satellite Communications
Satellite communication antennas send signals from ground control to satellite, satellite to satellite, and satellite to ground, sea, and airborne applications. At AOE, we have a large volume of experience designing array antennas with all these communication segments.
To name a few applications, we designed and manufactured 120 phased array subarrays for satellite control under the GDPAA effort, designed multi-beam downlink, space-based phased array antennas, and designed a transmit and receive airborne satellite communication antenna set for a covert application.
Receive-Only
Typically used for Signal Intelligence (SIGINT), Electronic Support Measures (ESM), and direction finding applications, receive only antennas are great at what they do. We’ve worked on many receive only antenna projects including biconial, discone, tunable loop, spirals, and other custom antenna types. Most often these antennas are custom and are miniaturized.
SIGINT
At AOE, we offer wide scanning SIGINT technology, capable of dual polarization and near ideal cosine fallout. Our proprietary element architecture has been used by Electronic Warfare (EW) and Signal Intelligence (SIGINT) applications.
We offer our clients our custom Vivaldi/Notch antenna technologies capable of multi-octave performance (9:1 +) in an ultra-wideband low-profile printed array architecture. We can tailor our technologies to meet your requirements and parameters including frequency range, minimized depth, and minimum return loss at a specified angle.
Covert
Antennas that have been designed for covert uses are usually installed in environments that compromise performance. It’s for this reason that having an efficient design is so important. AOE has designed and developed numerous covert antennas, all offering our customers the highest possible performance.
Wearable Antenna Technology
The design of body-worn antennas is particularly challenging, because of the effects the body can have on their performance. We’ve developed and demonstrated several body-worn antenna architectures, including tunable body-worn antennas capable of over an octave of bandwidth and antennas that use the human body to enhance performance.
Low Observable Antennas
Our engineers have a rich history of phased array antenna design for application to low observable platforms. In the past, we’ve worked on the designs of the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightening II radar apertures, which to this day still stand as some of the highest performing low RCS radar antennas ever designed.
