Featured Articles

  1. Overcoming Radar Simulation System Challenges 4/2/2020

    This article examines the challenges faced by EW system engineers in testing the effectiveness of their designs — in terms of technical demands, in-house capability, and, of course, cost.

  2. Definitive Guide to UAVs 10/31/2019

    Unmanned systems have continued to grow and transform military reconnaissance and surveillance missions. In fact, they’ve branched into more than a dozen categories and acronyms. This article provides an overview of the different acronyms associated with unmanned systems.

  3. The “Warrior Ethos” Of Restructuring EW 9/12/2019

    As the US Air Force restructures its electronic warfare (EW) efforts, its EW Enterprise Capabilities Collaboration Team (ECCT) continues to address prior complaints that the USAF’s EW mission/tools weren’t organized enough to stand up to our Cold War adversaries. As a result, the USAF will appoint an electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) expert or “champion” to its Air Staff – among other EWrelated tactics.

  4. Utilizing Modern Day MPMs For High-Power And High-Efficiency 4/25/2019

    The first MPM, developed in the early 1990s, used a solid-state driver amplifier, based on MMICs or discrete RF power transistors, to drive a mini traveling-wave tube (mini-TWT), and combined these devices with a power supply and control circuits in a very compact enclosure.

  5. New MQ-9 Reaper Capability: Automated Landing And Take-Off 10/7/2018

    In 2018, the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) added the capability to take off and land automatically. This new automated feature will help expand the US Air Force’s (USAF’s) mission capability, enhance combat effectiveness and increase flexibility.

  6. How One Military Plane Fights California Wildfires 8/30/2018

    The California Air National Guard used the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to help fight the Carr and Mendocino wildfires by capturing bird’s eye images and videos of the damage. 

  7. Marines' “Mega Drone” Illustrates Need For High-Efficiency Microwave Power Modules 4/3/2018

    A recent Military article revealed details about the US Marines' “mega-drone,” an impressive Group 5 aircraft (the largest class of military UAV) that can carry the same payload as an F-35B and fly a radius of up to 700 nautical miles at 30,000 feet, and will be able to fill “an extremely broad range of missions.

  8. Harmonic Injection Doubles Ultra-Wideband TWT RF Output 3/28/2018

    Using harmonic injection on an ultra-wideband TWT is a relatively new concept that works to cancel the naturally-generated second (and/or third) harmonic within the TWT, and therefore recover the available beam power back into the low-end fundamental frequencies. 

  9. What’s Better – Traveling Wave Tube Amplifiers (TWTAs) Or Solid State Power Amplifiers (SSPAs)? 5/1/2017

    Depending on the specific application and end-customer requirements, different parameters may be critical to the amplifier design. The ultimate goal is to create an amplifier that is specification compliant, reliable, low cost, and easy to maintain.

  10. How To Meet AS9100 Requirements As A Defense Subcontractor 3/14/2017

    Since the construction and maintenance of aircraft involves a variety of products, quality and compliance become major concerns. For these reasons, manufacturers supplying the aerospace industry face the decision whether or not to become AS9100 certified.