A True Time Delay-Steered Conformal Phased Array for Airborne Data Link Applications

Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) and other relatively small airborne platforms are being increasingly pressed into service to perform broadband Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. Typically, these smaller platforms do not have enough space for a dish antenna and gimbal mechanism needed for a high-data-rate telemetry link. This paper presents a unique approach to steering a beam from a broadband conformal aperture that is suitable for space-restricted applications. This approach does not use expensive T/R modules or electronic phase shifters and yields a costeffective phased array solution with very low size, weight and power (SWAP). A JEM prototype was recently flown by NASA on a sounding rocket mission where a continuous data link was maintained to a TDRSS satellite throughout the entire flight from launch through splashdown and recovery. The paper will present architectures for both 1-D and 2-D beam steering.