High Acceleration and Hypervelocity Radiofrequency Communications and Sensing

In gun-launched projectile applications, the launch accelerations are harsh and can be up to 50,000 g. In order to enable capability to operate in both high shock and aerothermal conditions, FIRST RF has developed compatible antenna technology.Prototypes of these sensors have been fabricated and validated to similar shock and thermal conditions. Additionally, as with all small weapons, space is very limited. As more and more functions are desired, the complexity and space required increases. FIRST RF has developed very wideband RF apertures that can operate in a variety of modes and coverage schemes. It is proposed that these apertures be combined with the high shock and aerothermal material and construction techniques to create a highly versatile, wideband, multi-mode antenna array compatible with high velocity projectiles. These antenna arrays may then be interfaced with wideband radios to enable a variety of operations. This overall solution significantly lowers the required volume allocation, complexity, cost and weight.