Radio cross-section reduction of conformal antennas mounted on vehicles
The radar cross section (RCS) of a vehicle/antenna combination is reduced by using an antenna and ground plane which are of substantially the same area, and using a frequency selective surface (FSS) in the regions on the periphery of the ground plain where the FSS is designed to be transparent and thereby pass out-of-band frequencies, while reflecting one or more operating frequencies of the antenna. A multilayer absorber below the FSS absorbs the out-of-band frequencies that a larger ground plane may have otherwise reflected to the body of the vehicle to which the antenna is mounted.
1. A vehicle with at least one antenna having reduced radio cross-section characteristics, comprising:
at least one radiating element mounted on one side of a surface of the vehicle;
a ground plane mounted on an opposite side of the surface of the vehicle and in alignment with the at least one radiating element in a z dimension, wherein the ground plane and the at least one radiating element have approximately a same x and y dimensions;
a frequency selective surface positioned adjacent an outer periphery of the ground plane on the opposite side of the surface of the vehicle, the frequency selective surface being substantially transparent at out-of-band frequencies of the at least one radiating element and being reflecting at one or more operating frequencies of the at least one radiating element; and
a multilayer absorber positioned over the frequency selective surface and the ground plane and spaced away from the opposite side surface of the vehicle in the z dimension by a thickness of the ground plane and the frequency selective surface.
2. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the vehicle is an aircraft.
3. The vehicle of claim 2 wherein the aircraft is a missile.
4. The vehicle of claim 2 wherein the aircraft is a drone.
5. The vehicle of claim 2 wherein the aircraft is a plane.
6. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the vehicle is a track or wheeled vehicle.
7. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the at least one radiating element is a single antenna.
8. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the at least one radiating element is an array of antennas.
9. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the x and y dimensions of the ground plane are within 5% of the x and y dimensions of the at least one radiating element.
10. The vehicle of claim 1 wherein the multilayer absorber is a polyurethane foam designed to provide approximately −10 dB reflection coefficient over a desired frequency band.