Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Antennas

"Based on the antenna concepts and designs developed under Phase I, a program to develop prototype antenna systems for use on the Shadow 200 is presented for Phase II. Phase II will concentrate on antenna development for the communications bands, e.g. 30MHz - 2 GHz, with 90 MHz as the design center. In addition, conformal FLAPS arrays will be developed for the microwave bands with 5.0 GHz as the target frequency. Since emitter location is a necessary requirement, an interferometer system will beimplemented using commercial electronics where available, and evaluated using prototype antennas and Shadow 200 wing-boxes. Because of the requirement for minimum aerodynamic impact, several new antenna concepts, in addition to resonant patch antennas,will be explored. Among these are suspended strip-line and high dielectric constant substrates. In order to minimize the impact of the antenna installation on the UAV performance, the antenna location and shape will be coordinated with the TUAV developerwho will design a suitable aerodynamic radome.Static tests of system performance will be conducted at contractor's facilities. If Government furnished wind tunnel facilities are made available, dynamic tests of system performance may be conducted."