Mission requirements for near-future radars dictate high levels of operational capability provided by systems that are light in weight. Such radars must feature agile, reconfigurable beams coupled with high effective transmit power and high receive sensitivity.
The operational requirements are fulfilled by adopting large aperture active phased array antennas having transmit/receive (TIR) electronics distributed with the radiating elements. Distributing the active TIR circuits over the array antenna also necessitates distributing their associated prime power converters and controllers, plus providing means for effective thermal management and conveying RF/power signals. It is desirable that these phased array antennas be realized with minimum weight to promote high mobility in ground radar applications and to minimize top-side mass for shipboard systems.
Accordingly, there is a need for a lightweight active phased array antenna having distributed transmit/receive (T/R) electronics radiating elements, power converters, and controllers. Such a phased array antenna should also have effective thermal management and a mechanism for conveying the RF/power signals.