Embedded Antennas For Tactical Military Applications

By James O’Keeffe, Ph.D., P.E., TE Connectivity 

Today’s military radios are challenged to keep pace with the rapidly evolving world of consumer wireless technology — to meet users’ increasing demand for higher bandwidth. The battlefield is becoming a more information-rich environment, with increased emphasis on multiplatform radio communication between soldiers, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), satellites, and command centers. Information goes far beyond voice communications to now include imagery, video to the front lines, data, and even Internet access. In recent years, programs such as Advanced Wireless Networks for the Soldier (AWNS) and the Joint Battle Command-Platform (JBC-P) handheld have aimed to equip soldiers with higher- bandwidth, smartphone-like capabilities. One challenge these programs face in providing higher bandwidth to military radios is, in most cases, the absence of a network of base stations, coupled with environments ranging from deserts to cluttered urban environments. To adapt to this range of operating conditions, software-defined military radios employ multiple radio waveforms, frequency hopping, and transmit powers in the range of 50 W.