Shared Aperture Technology Development

The demand for increasingly sophisticated sensor and communications systems aboard military platforms has grown while space and weight constraints have become more stringent. These opposing factors have created a strong desire to reduce the number of associated antenna systems by combining the functions of several systems into a single antenna. Shared aperture antennas are a new class of phased array antennas that combine the functionality of several antennas into one aperture using wideband multiple beam technology. Applications for shared apertures include radar, communications, and electronic warfare. This article describes an experimental shared aperture antenna underdevelopment at the Applied Physics Laboratory. The antenna incorporates key shared aperture technologies, including wideband dual-polarized tapered notch radiating elements and dual-channel monolithic microwave integrated circuit receive modules.