SBIR-STTR Award

Since the final third of the 20th century, Navys airborne electronic attack (AEA) capabilities have grown to serve a unique and critical role in protecting our militarys spectral dominance. However, in the nearly 50 years since the first AEA payloads were deployed, few substantive modifications have been made to the original system hardware or design, leaving the current fleet of AEA systems in increasingly urgent need of modernization. This obsolescence is compounded by the persistent increase in both the sophistication and the capability of our enemies RF systems. In order for Navys AEA fleet to provide another half century of effective service, significant updates are required to enhance the performance and integration of next-generation AEA payloads. FIRST RF proposes a novel AEA antenna architecture adapted from proven (TRL-9) FIRST RF technologies that are specifically tailored to meet all of the performance and integration challenges associated with next-generation AEA systems. This background provides a uniquely low-risk path to meeting the objectives of the proposed Phase I program.

Benefit:
If successful, FIRST RFs proposed airborne electronic attack (AEA) antenna suite will enable next-generation AEA systems to provide substantial improvements in both efficiency and operational capabilities compared to legacy AEA antennas. By leveraging proven technologies and techniques to improve the efficiency, bandwidth, size, and installed performance of electrically small antennas, FIRST RFs approach provides a clear path to rapidly developing and demonstrating a successor to Navys workhorse AEA fleet. Moreover, by partnering with a key prime contractor, FIRST RF is uniquely well positioned to successfully demonstrate and transition our proposed technologies to market, thereby ensuring the SBIR effort achieves its ultimate objective of delivering much-needed capabilities to our warfighters.

Keywords:
UHF and VHF, UHF and VHF, Electrically Small Antenna, Airborne Jamming, installed performance, Broadband Antenna, High-Power Radio Frequency Jamming, Electromagnetic Maneuver Warfare, airborne electronic attack (AEA)

To maintain spectrum dominance against insurgent, near-peer, and peer adversaries, it is imperative for the United States Armed Forces and Department of Defense (DoD) to expand our nation’s superior capabilities for functions across the radio frequency (RF) spectrum, including communications, wideband electronic attack (EA), and radar missions. While recent advances in exciter and amplifier technologies have made significant enhancements in the availability of broadband, high-power electronics, a similar improvement is required for antenna arrays that can provide efficient, high-power coverage over large spatial, spectral, and polarimetric domains—including support of multiple simultaneous beams. In practice, conventional array technologies supporting these functions are not only highly specialized to their specific function, but are also subject to fundamental limitations associated with bandwidth, power handling/efficiency, scan volume, scan blindness, and polarization diversity. These limitations motivate exploration of a new class of non-traditional antenna arrays. Given the recent breakthroughs and advancements in commercially available RF electronics, there is an unprecedented opportunity for a shift in design philosophy towards combination of operational functions. With that comes a need to expand the capabilities of supporting array technologies, including a new demand for innovative array products that can support wideband, multifunction, multi-beam operations with low-cost, scalable, and adaptable arrays. To address this technology gap, FIRST RF proposes an innovative antenna element and modular array topology that, together, support next-generation, multi-mission phased array capabilities. The proposed program seeks to quantitatively demonstrate the benefits of a novel, next-generation antenna array in supporting performance that is relevant to future communications, EA, and radar systems.