Date: Jan 01, 2012 Source: ARMY SBIR Success Story (
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Command and control vehicles are an obvious target because of their high profile and greater number of antennas. To counter this threat, the Army must reduce antenna profile as much as possible without compromising a communication system's ability to reliably deliver critical information via key Department of Defense satellite constellations such as the Wideband Global Satellite Communications system (WGS). A low profile, dual band (X/Ka) on-the-move antenna system will provide an inconspicuous low profile appearance and will provide significant performance advantages over a similarly sized dish. In addition to reducing the vehicle's overall antenna system height, a dual band antenna system will also increase network availability by providing Soldiers access to a more diverse set of satellite resources. In situations where Ka-band on WGS is unavailable, the antenna is capable of switching in a matter of seconds to X-band or switching to an entirely different satellite constellation, thereby offering the Soldier uninterrupted access to the Global Information Grid.
The objective of this project is to initiate the design and development of key components of the dual band satellite communications antenna system. ThinKom was able to successfully deliver the complete antenna system for test and evaluation early this year, and is now developing a smaller diameter variant of this antenna system that will offer greater compatibility with a broader range of Army vehicles. The smaller diameter X/Ka-band antenna system is expected to more easily mount on the roof of a military vehicle, while reducing the height over existing antenna systems. Because the electronics for the system are completely self-contained under a common radome, an integrated cooling system was developed to ensure components do not exceed allowable operating temperatures.
Technology Transition:
ThinKom received $1.9M from the Program Manager Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (PM WIN-T) for further development of the antenna subsystem design utilizing the high efficiency Continuous Transverse Stub (CTS) and low profile technologies. ThinKom has successfully transitioned the X-Band portion of the antenna subsystem to full production through a US State Department Manufacturing License Agreement (MLA) for delivery of X-Band communications on-the-move antenna systems to the Spanish Ministry of Defense (MOD). Presently 54 such systems are on order, with 8 units expected to be delivered to the Spanish MOD during 2012.
