Mini Travelling Wave Tubes (TWTs) -- 'The Next Generation' At e2v

e2v has a long history in the development and manufacture of Helix TWTs for military airborne applications. Over the past 20 years e2v has manufactured broad-band midi-TWTs (6kV operating voltage) for the use in airborne towed decoy systems. In the late 1990s e2v set out to develop a mini-TWT (4.5kV operating voltage) for use in FOTDs (Fibre Optic Towed Decoys) systems, targeting major European and US military programs. In an accelerated development program, utilising its strong core TWT technology and manufacturing base, e2v propelled itself into the world market for advanced mini-TWTs to become one of the world leaders in the development and supply of these devices.

Of late, e2v's helix TWT engineering team has focussed on further developing the company's range of mini-TWTs in order to take the current technology to the ‘Next Generation'. Expanding on the traditional airborne decoy market and anticipating future system requirements, the ‘Next Generation' both builds on the current rugged and proven technology, whilst enhancing output power, frequency range, and efficiency. The new range of tubes also introduces bespoke narrow band mini-TWTs. The goal being to supply a range of devices to meet future applications, including; Microwave Power Modules (MPMs), Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), data links, Electronic Counter Measures (ECMs) and Electronic Warfare (EW).