Platform Independent Omni-Directional Antennas (IODA "YODA")

NextGen Aeronautics Inc. has teamed with San Diego State University build on their successful Phase I effort to develop omni-directioinal antennas that perform independent of their mounting location. The planned work builds upon the team"s extensive prior experience in conformal load-bearing antenna structures (CLAS), reconfigurable antennas, and antenna design, in addition to the testing performed during Phase I. The team has down selected proposed antenna concepts that all have demonstrated 100% bandwidth from 6-18 GHz, with successful testing of their radiation patterns. The designs will be further improved based on the Phase I test results, before extensive testing is performed on multiple platforms, ranging from aircraft to people, to representative tanks. At the end of Phase II we will have significant test data validating our final antenna design, as well as integration of that design into a wideband receiver.