Could this ultra-flat antenna give China’s stealth fighters an edge?
Chengdu team arranges elements in a tightly coupled circular array for omnidirectional antenna that operates on broad range of frequencies
Chinese engineers have developed a super low profile, compact antenna that could allow next-generation stealth aircraft to have lower radar visibility while maintaining their communication and navigation capabilities.
As political tensions between China and the United States continue to brew, both nations continue to build up their military capabilities, including designing increasingly powerful stealth fighter jets.
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Combat aircraft feature increasingly flat profiles in a bid to improve stealth and aerodynamics, however miniaturising traditionally bulky aircraft antennas has proven to be a challenge.
The Chinese researchers developed a new antenna whose height is just a fraction of its wavelength to try to overcome this hurdle.
It features eight antenna elements arranged into a circular array in a design that could allow it to seamlessly integrate into aircraft without compromising its operational frequency range.
“This antenna has a profile height of only 0.047 times the low-frequency wavelength,” the team said in a paper published in the December issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of Electronic Science and Technology.