Tactical Body Worn RF Antenna Vest

Tactical data communications for military ground operations require multi-band and multi-channel operations. The constraints imposed by electromagnetic and survivability considerations dictate that the communication antenna be as low profile as possible,without severely compromising the ability of the warfighter to communicate even when operating under marginal propagation conditions. In this effort we propose novel techniques for designing ultra-wideband antennas that will exhibit satisfactory gain andimpedance performance over the specified frequency bandwidth. The multiple elements of the antenna in the HF to UHF range can be used as a DF antenna. We use fractal structures for broadbanding of the elements. We propose to follow a strategy that firstselects candidate antenna configurations that have the potential for broadbanding, and then apply a genetic engineering approach to loading and matching the antenna to achieve extremely wide bandwidths. We plan to produce a prototype design at the end ofPhase I and to also investigate the feasibility of manufacturing the same in the follow-on effort (Phase II).The proposed scheme based on the use of the Genetic Algorithm (GA) is new and holds an excellent promise for designing ultra-wideband antennas for the warfighter. The proposed antenna will have widespread applications in various military operations, including SINCGARS, National Guards, Naval and Air Force Operations, as well as in the FAA, among others. The antenna will also satisfy the demands of widebandvehicular communications involving ISDN, spread spectrum, video, multimedia, and so on.