Wideband Conformal Continuous-Slot Antenna Array is R&D 100 winner of the day

Southwest Research Institute’s (SwRI) novel AS-750 family of Wideband Continuous-Slot Antenna Arrays offers UHF/SHF capabilities without experiencing the grating lobes that plague modern higher-frequency direction-finding antenna arrays. They provide beamformed omnidirectional acquisition and direction-finding outputs for signal intelligence processing. It is the first practical implementation of the current sheet concept proposed in the mid-20th century and until now largely relegated to theory. When installed in sections around a ship’s mast, the low-profile system is seven inches tall and up to an 18-in. diameter. It offers an alternate and viable approach from traditional antennas’ that must be mounted to the top of a mast to achieve high performance at higher frequencies.