The antenna is an important part of the
UAV 's post-shipment measurement and control system, and its performance directly affects the performance of the
UAV system . Looking forward to the future development trend of measurement and control antennas, it will develop towards smart skin, large-scale integration, ultra-wideband, high efficiency, low radar reflection cross section (RCS); the frequency band will extend from microwave segment to millimeter band and even optical band; The antenna will be combined with a variety of technologies, and performance will be further improved. Therefore, accelerating the development of measurement and control antennas adapted to these new concepts and systems will certainly promote the further development of measurement and control communication technology.
Design Technology of UAV Ship Surface Measurement and Control Antenna Based on Integrated Radio Frequency System
The design technology of the UAV ship surface measurement and control antenna based on the integrated radio frequency system is to replace the data link antenna aperture with the distributed broadband multi-function aperture of the carrier, adopting a modular, open, reconfigurable RF sensor system architecture, and Combined with function control and resource management scheduling algorithms and software, the radio frequency function of UAV data transmission is realized.
Integrated RF technology advances "integration" to antennas and RF front-ends, enabling real-time control and resource sharing, resource management, and resource allocation based on shared RF modules, enabling system designers to build a single versatile RF module with as few A multi-functional integrated RF avionics system with mission planning, navigation communication identification, situational awareness, target detection, tracking, and attack capabilities, and significantly reduces the cost, weight, power consumption, and failure rate of avionics systems. The main technical research directions include:
(1) Resource scheduling design, resource allocation, reconstruction and management based on time and function.
(2) Broadband phased array multitasking technology.
(3) Broadband active T/R component technology.
(4) Broadband antenna and microwave system technology.
(5) Integrated signal processing technology.
(6) High-speed data transmission and switching network technology.
(7) Multi-functional integrated RF system management and control technology.
Automatic tracking technology of drone measurement and control antenna without stable platform device
The automatic tracking technology of the UAV's measurement and control antenna without stable platform device utilizes the GPS guidance method and the brushless servo motor control to realize the servo control of the azimuth and elevation angle of the directional antenna, and has certain reserved expansion. Avoid the single-channel single-pulse tracking system, and make the azimuth pitch judgment through the signal phase relationship to introduce a complex servo system.
The US BMS company has applied this technology to the latest tracking antenna of a certain type of drone. The main technical research directions at present include:
(1) System architecture design, using the GPI position of the unmanned aerial vehicle in flight and the GPS position of the data link in the ship's control station, system transmission delay and other factors to solve the antenna's azimuth and elevation angle.
(2) Servo motor control, which ensures that the rotating torque is stable and the rotation angle is accurate.
(3) Tracking technology again, the recapture technology after the UAV data link antenna loses the drone.
Light integrated antenna technology
Light integrated antenna technology is a technology that integrates, lightweights, integrates and planarizes multiple antennas, embeds and integrates antennas into the superstructure of warships. It uses a combination of planar array antennas, joint apertures, materials, structural design, System integration and other technologies, through the system engineering approach, the ship's antenna design and stealth design are organically assembled. The main advantages are: (1) The antenna is miniaturized, which can reduce the size and size of the antenna and is suitable for ship installation. (2) The application of multi-standard antennas will save cost and antenna resources and flexibly meet the requirements. (3) The application of new materials can meet the basic functions of the antenna, and can be improved in stealth and electromagnetic compatibility.
The design of foreign antennas has changed from single function integration, split design to modular integrated design, electromagnetic passive materials to active electronic control materials, large size to miniaturization, and intelligent development from function, design and deployment. The main technical research directions include:
(1) The antenna is miniaturized. The miniaturization of the antenna reduces the size of the antenna while ensuring that the performance of the antenna is substantially constant.
(2) A variety of standard network common antenna applications, in the future, a variety of systems share a UWB antenna, not only the antenna working frequency band covers multiple standards, but also can achieve independent adjustment of each system according to different requirements of the system.
(3) The antenna function mode is developing toward the intelligent function. In the future, the antenna realizes intelligent beamforming, beam pointing control, beam splitting and remote control, which can flexibly meet the application requirements of the battlefield. Through the intelligent inter-system interoperability of the antenna and the optimal utilization of resources, the intelligent operation mode is finally realized.
(4) The connection between the antenna and the RF module is developed from a separate type to a centralized type. In the future, the centralized equipment replaces the separate equipment, the optical fiber replaces the cable, and the antenna and the main equipment are miniaturized and integrated, and the antenna and spectrum resources are saved and flexiblely deployed to adapt to the flat development trend of the network.
(5) Research and development and application of new materials.
Airborne conformal phased array antenna technology
The airborne conformal antenna (array) transforms the antenna from a bulky device in the aircraft into a large but thin array that becomes part of the long-haul drone wing or even part of the aircraft skin, making the antenna and carrier aircraft Conformal without damaging the mechanical and aerodynamic properties of the aircraft.
There are several advantages to attaching a conformal array to the outer layer of the aircraft. First, the range of platforms for perceptual detection has been expanded, and any aircraft can be easily modified for intelligence gathering. The wing, the door or the fuselage can all be antennas; in addition, with a conformal antenna, the array aperture is larger, which means better detection performance. Moreover, the use of a conformal antenna can optimize the design of the aircraft to reduce the radar characteristics, while saving space, reducing the aerodynamic drag of the aircraft, minimizing the impact of the antenna on the aerodynamics of the aircraft, and correspondingly increasing the flight time of the aircraft. .
In the field of conformal antennas, there is fierce competition in the world. The US Department of Defense believes that high-end unmanned combat aircraft and reconnaissance drones will be developed in the next decade. Conformal multi-aperture sensors, also known as smart skins, will be the focus of these efforts. The current need is to create lightweight antenna arrays that can be used as aircraft skins and consume very little power. The conformal array is used on unmanned combat aircraft. The small, stealth and missile-sized unmanned combat aircraft can combine the advantages of the conformal antenna and use the outer surface of the entire UAV platform as the aperture for communication. Imaging, harassing, and transmitting high-power pulses to enemy electronic devices to act as weapons.
