Our Role

Fabricate and Test the VHF Airborne Antenna for Shadow 200

Integrate CRP with Shadow 200
Develop “A Kit” to integrate CRP with Shadow 200
Plan and execute Captive Flight Test
Verification of Longley-Rice models of RF propagation
Verification of VHF Airborne Antenna (small wideband dipole)
Find and eliminate sources of interference in VHF band
Reduce VHF-band Noise Floor on the Shadow 200
Design and fabrication of fixtures for testing with the UH-1
Extensive instrumentation and data collection effort
Support flight testing and operational evaluation

Design and Fabrication Requirements

Minimize weight and aerodynamic impact
Physically small and lightweight
Dipole type (due to composite airframe)
Wide bandwidth (30 – 88 MHz)
Measurements verified need to reduce Noise Floor
Efforts yielded a 10 – 20 dB reduction in Noise Floor

Customer

Program Manager, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (PM-UAS)

Teaming Effort

Bokler Systems Corporation teamed with the Prototype Integration Facility (PIF),
JVYS, and the Redstone Technical Test Center to fabricate and test the CRP.

The antenna system was mounted on a UH-1 for captive flight testing.

Comm Relay Fabrication and Test

Development activities conducted by Bokler Systems Corporation (BSC) have proven the viability of the Communication Relay Package (CRP) design. In less than six months a BSC-led team planned and executed a Risk Reduction effort that included the design and fabrication of a physically small and electrically efficient broadband VHF antenna; a captive flight test of this antenna to verify its performance; and an intensive effort to reduce the VHF noise floor on the Shadow 200 UAV by finding and mitigating sources of interference. BSC continues to support the Program Manager, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (PM-UAS) in the integration of the CRP with the Shadow 200, preparation for flight testing, and an operational evaluation.

Tests performed under controlled conditions yielded data resulting in numerous improvements to the design and construction of the antenna system.

Captive Flight Test Results

The system was tested at various frequencies, altitudes, and ranges.

Prototype Antenna Installation

The antenna system was designed to be flown on the Shadow 200.

UAV Design Integration

Further testing was conducted on the Shadow 200.