On The Move (OTM) Ku/Ka SATCOM Capability for the EFV

The United States Military has an urgent need to develop affordable phased array antennas supporting SATCOM on the move (OTM) capabilities. Currently-available SATCOM terminals rely on gimbaled dish antennas integrated with broadband feed structures. Although dish antenna technology is well suited for some commercial and military applications, the parabolic dish is not an optimal antenna solution for military SATCOM terminals. A phased array antenna is the only solution which will provide the data rates and beam agility required for OTM SATCOM terminals. However, in order to field an affordable phased array antenna, certain obstacles must be overcome in both the design and manufacture of the antenna and associated electronics (Tx/Rx modules, phase shifters, etc). The proposed FIRST RF approach represents a dramatic departure from the conventional phased array architecture, and reduces cost and complexity and improves reliability. FIRST RF took a particularly aggressive approach during Phase I and built and tested passive arrays at Ku and Ka bands in order to validate the basic antenna architecture and construction process. The objective of this SBIR Phase II effort is to build a fully active Ku-Band phased array to demonstrate the advantages and affordability of the new phased array architecture.