Getting the Signal With Digital Twin - Leonardo Deploys Digital Twin To Capture In-Flight Behavior of Helicopter Radar

Leonardo needed to correct a helicopter radar transmission loss caused by in-flight vibration to the helicopter's radome. Leonardo deployed Altair's digital twin solution to solve the problem. Using a multiphysics approach, the team created a digital twin of the radar antenna's structural and electromagnetic systems. They then correlated deformation to the antenna's design, tracked changes based on vibration, and calculated the antenna's electromagnetic signature.

With these findings, Leonardo could optimize its next antenna build version without using expensive prototypes. Altair's solution also closed loops and slashed turnaround times between Leonardo's structural and electronics engineering departments by enabling teams to evaluate the radome and antenna system models in a unified ecosystem. The resulting streamlined workflows produced valuable insights into the antenna radiation patterns, physics drivers, and best trade-offs early in the development cycle, saving Leonardo time and technical resources.