Ultra-Light Interlaced Active Electronically Steerable Antennas (ULI-AESA)

There is a pressing need for both ground based and small UAV applications for low-cost and high-efficiency MMW 2-D AESA capability, interlaced with a dual lower frequency aperture. This combination will enable both communications and radar from the same aperture. Goleta Star LLC with support from Quinstar and Academia will develop a low-cost lite-weight ULI-AESA at MMW. The approach is based upon a novel architecture, and will provide E-scan in two dimensions. It is scalable to other frequencies and larger apertures. It is particularly attractive at W-band where component technology is still relatively expensive. Innovative approaches enable low-cost solutions to be implemented to provide electronic scanning in both the azimuth and elevation planes. AESA designs at both W-band and Ka-band have been developed. The design is scalable so that small or large apertures can be realized to adjust the design to platform constraints and mission requirements. The design approach focuses on an MTI mode initially with easy adaptation to SAR. The approach can be utilized for radar and / or communication. During Phase II we will build a first model of the AESA. We will also build a model of the associated Radar IF. We will then integrate the antenna and IF, and conduct test and evaluation of the resultant system.