Antenna and Flight Control Software for Conformal Phased Array Antenna Design (CPAAD)

Abstract

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is developing lightweight conformal phased array antenna designs (CPAAD) for beyond line of sight communications [1]. The CPAAD system is developed to address reliable and affordable autonomous next generation aviation systems. The technology takes advantage of newly assigned provisional Ku-bands for UAVs. The antenna design is unique to avoid interference with the ground and the unconventional substrate reduces weight. The surface mounted conformal design allows for reduced drag during flight. The software developed for the CPAAD system operates the antenna hardware and provides a graphic user interface (GUI) for ground testing and flight operations.