FIRST RF CORPORATION — Department of Defense SBIR Phase II: A17-040

Description

The Department of Defense depends on multiple systems to establish and update position information of our forces on the battlefield. However, the current interfacing capability for position location information (PLI) systems is limited to a select few service providers. By adding flexibility to the RF media interface for these systems, new levels of connectedness and reliability can be achieved, providing greater situational awareness to every warfighter. Currently, new multi-band waveforms are in development to support transceiver function across multiple wireless systems and assist in enhancing PLI reliability. These new waveforms require significant bandwidth and efficiency from the corresponding RF sensors. However, limited real estate on tactical vehicular platforms precludes traditionally broadband and efficient antenna designs. The competing requirements for size, bandwidth, efficiency, and pattern coverage are especially challenging for systems operating at frequencies such as UHF and L-Band. FIRST RF proposes a variety of novel material and loading technologies that – when combined with FIRST RF’s proven broadband radiators – minimize the size of the antenna without compromising its bandwidth or efficiency.