It’s the size of an ice cube and weighs just a fraction of an ounce, and Raytheon [RTN] says its miniaturized interrogation antenna will extend the use of its Cooperative Target ID technology for soldiers and unmanned aircraft to prevent fratricide.
The work builds on an existing Raytheon antenna design and additional enhancements performed in concert with the U.S. Army CERDEC Intelligence & Information Warfare Directorate (I2WD).
“This new miniaturized antenna is ideal to meet the constrained size and weight requirements posed by individual soldier and UAS (unmanned aircraft system) applications, and it represents a technological breakthrough that can be of immediate benefit to our warfighters,” said Glynn Raymer, vice president of Raytheon’s Network Centric Systems’ Combat Systems.
The new miniature antenna capitalizes on proven cooperative millimeter wave technology, which has been certified at technical readiness level seven (TRL 7) by the military for use on combat vehicles.
Raytheon’s mini antenna development is the latest enhancement of its Cooperative Target ID technology successfully demonstrated to I2WD as part of the Light Vehicle Demonstration contract. This technology can be commonly applied to airborne platforms, ground vehicles and dismounted warfighters, providing air-to-ground and ground-to-ground mission capabilities. The technology is designed for ease of integration with surveillance, targeting and soldier systems.
“Raytheon’s Cooperative Target ID technology has repeatedly demonstrated its mission effectiveness in locating friendly forces during numerous U.S. government-sponsored ground and airborne field test exercises over the past seven years,” Raymer said. “It is easy to use by soldiers and pilots alike, and the feedback from test personnel has been uniformly positive.”
During testing at the Bold Quest 2009 exercise, the radio frequency-based technology was mounted inside an F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter aircraft pod. Raytheon’s combat ID solution provided an essential air-to-ground capability to reliably identify and locate friendly forces equipped with the technology at typically tactical close air support ranges in real time and under all-weather and typical, obscured battlefield environments, including urban settings. The Joint Forces Command-sponsored Bold Quest 2009 was conducted at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and involved more than 800 personnel and equipment from 10 U.S. and allied partner nations to evaluate multiple combat identification technologies.