Ultra-High Performance Antennas for Communications-On-The-Move (COTM)

The military is in the process of developing programmable, multiband, multimode radios that provide multiple, simultaneous transmit and receive channels in the frequency range of 2 MHz to 2 GHz to support the digitization of the battlefield. New, advanced ultra-wideband antenna concepts, subsystems and components that support multiple, simultaneous transmission and/or reception need to be developed to exploit advanced radio capabilities, such as reprogrammability and frequency agility. Ultra-widebeam antennas are required to provide communications capabilities using high altitude endurance (HAE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and mobile ground platforms. These capabilities include broadband relay services and broadcast services for wideband digital information. UAV antennas with ultra-wide beamwidths increase the coverage area to enable COTM (Communications-on-the-Move) and simplify payload design. Ultra-widebeam antennas in ground platforms provide COTM capability. Multimode operation supports beamwidth expansion and may provide simultaneous and/or switched multifunction operation. In this SBIR (Small Business Innovative Research) Phase I program, concepts / approaches for ultra-wideband and ultra-widebeam antennas, subsystems, and components will be identified. Trades for performance capabilities versus beamwidth of ultra-widebeam antennas, including simultaneous and/or switched multimode, multifunction operation will be identified. A range of baseline designs based on trade studies will be developed. A Phase II approach will be defined.