Design and Manufacture of Conformal Distributed Antennas for Robust OTM Ku/Ka-Band SATCOM Systems (1000-066)

SI2 Technologies, Inc. (SI2) proposes to develop an on-the-move (OTM) Ku/Ka-Band SATCOM antenna system for the Marine Corps Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV). Limited space on the EFV and its land and sea operating environment present significant challenges for OTM communications. SI2’s approach provides a low cost solution consisting of smaller, distributed antennas integrated with the platform using SI2’s proprietary System Integrated Design and Manufacturing (SIDM) technology. The SATCOM antenna system will communicate with low Earth orbits (LEO) and geosynchronous Earth orbits (GEO) with data rates of at least 64 kbps. The EFV SATCOM system will be capable of satellite tracking while the EFV is on the move in water traveling at 25 knots up to sea state 3, or on land with speeds up to 45 knots. Top level concerns are cost, throughput, size, weight, radar-cross-section (RCS), and power. SI2’s proposed approach offers unique capabilities to design and manufacture the OTM EFV Ku/Ka-Band SATCOM antenna system.