Blue Force Communications Compatible Antenna System

As RF transmitters become more prevalent on US Army ground vehicles, the need for antenna systems that allow for mutual interoperability of Blue Force communications equipment and other RF systems grows in urgency. The main challenges that must be addressed for a successfully-realized system include adequate bandwidth and gain coverage as well as an understanding of the practical domain of the problem. Technologies addressing these challenges will require accurate verification from measurements and simulations of installed performance. FIRST RF has developed a broadband multi-function antenna system and an innovative beam forming technique to address each of these concerns. In support of these proposed techniques, FIRST RF engineers have designed, tested, simulated, and validated key components of the technology. Based on these results, FIRST RF has generated initial predictions of installed performance. FIRST RF investigated several radiator, integration, and beam forming techniques, providing a wide variety of technologies to be pursued in the Phase I evaluation, and for future systems. The proposed innovative solutions are practical and maximize performance and integration in order to facilitate expedited delivery to the warfighter. Prototypes and models developed in preparation for this proposal are available for immediate testing and engineering by the US Army team.