RADOMES – LARGE SIZED COMPOSITE STRUCTURES WITH MULTI-DISCIPLINARY REQUIREMENTS FOR UNMANNED RECONNAISSANCE AIR PLATFORMS

Abstract

High flying unmanned air vehicles (UAV) require the transmission of large data volumes via multiband / wideband satellite communication (SatCom). The radome protects the antenna against a harsh environment and is a high performance component that has to fulfill requirements from several disciplines. The purpose of the presented work is to develop a technology to design, manufacture and qualify radomes fulfilling the requirements. To identify the requirements and their prioritization is a first task. Most important is to understand and assure electromagnetic transmissivity. In principle there are three different candidates for a radome design, i.e. a monolithic, an A-Sandwich and a C-Sandwich shell structure. In a next step a suitable electromagnetic solution has to be transferred to a design that considers manufacturability, ensures structural integrity and all relevant criteria for certification. A thin wall A-Sandwich configuration is supposed to be the best selection and was evaluated in terms of transmissivity, manufacturing, damage tolerance, and lightning protection. A building block approach with increasing complexity is established with tests on different coupons and with demonstrators to achieve a stepwise evolution of the technical maturity of the envisaged radome concept. Promising results have been achieved within a collaborating framework of research institutes and industry and the work will continue to answer more specific questions to increase the technological readiness level (TRL).