Development of Wideband Conformal IED Jammer Antenna

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have become a common part of the arsenal used by the enemy against US forces. Current military vehicles use a monopole or whip antenna to radiate jamming signals to mitigate these threats. These antennas have a high profile, which can extend from 2.5 ft to over 5 ft in height, and are easily visible and prone to being damaged or destroyed while on patrol. New technology is needed to reduce the profile of these antennas while maintaining or possibly increasing the operations effectiveness. To address this critical military need, Luna Innovations will leverage its cross disciplinary knowledge in electromagnetics and materials engineering to design a compact broadband antenna capable of omni-directional coverage in azimuth while maintaining a low profile. Luna’s proposed approach features a traditional antenna design and specially engineered materials as the antenna substrate which enables antenna size miniaturization and prevents shorting of the antenna near a metal surface.