ELECTRONICALLY SCANNED, RECONFIGURABLE MMW RADAR ANTENNA

WEAPONS DELIVERY SYSTEMS FOR ARMAMENTS REQUIRE MODERNIZATION TO REFLECT THE "SMART SKINS" PACKAGING CONCEPT WHICH IS UNDER DEVELOPMENT FOR AIRCRAFT. ARMAMENTS ARE GENERALLY SMALLER AND RADAR SENSORS AND SEEKERS WILL OPERATE AT SHORTER WAVELENGTHS, OFTEN IN MILLIMETER WAVELENGTHS. THE DEVELOPMENT OF A UNIFIED ANTENNA/TRANSCEIVER FOLLOWING "SMART SKINS" TECHNOLOGY REQUIRES AN ELECTRONICALLY SCANNED PHASED PLANAR ARRAY AGAINST A PLANAR TRANSCEIVER IN A FLAT PACKAGE. RECOGNIZING THE HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT FOR THESE ARMAMENTS, THIS CONCEPT MAY BE ENHANCED OF THE PLANAR ARRAY (OR CONFORMAL) ANTENNA CAN BE RECONFIGURED IN THE EVEN OF DAMAGE OR THE NEED TO CHANGE THE ANTENNA RADAR CROSS-SECTION (RCS). THE PHASE I RESEARCH WILL HAVE THREE BASELINE CONCERNS: 1) INVESTIGATE MATERIALS OPTIONS FOR ALL ELEMENTS OF THE "SMART SKIN" PACKAGE IMPLEMENTATION, 2) DEVELOP AND TEST A DIGITAL PHASE SHIFTER TO FACILITATE SCANNING OF A PREVIOUSLY DEMONSTRATED W-BAND PHASED ARRAY, AND 3), DEVELOP A COMPLETE, "SMART SKINS" PACKAGE CONCEPT FOR A W-BAND ARMAMENT SENSOR OR SEEKER RADAR. DURING PHASE II, THIS "SMART SKINS" RADAR MODULE WILL BE FABRICATED AND DEMONSTRATED INCLUDING CONFIGURATION AND PERFORMANCE MODIFICATION TO ALTER ITS RCS THROUGH MECHANICAL CHANGES IN THE PHASE SHIFTERS. IT WILL ALSO BE DEMONSTRATED THAT THIS RECONFIGURATION COULD BE DONE THROUGH CHANGES IN THE PROGRAMS WHICH CONTROL THE PHSE SHIFTERS FOR SCANNING.