July 8, 2014

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded Rockwell Collins a contract to develop new electronically scanned array (ESA) antenna technology as part of the Arrays at Commercial Timescales (ACT) program.

The ACT program is focused on shorter design cycles and creating a commercial market approach to developing antenna arrays.  This program aims to make ESAs more affordable by offering a common building block component that is digitally interconnected, reconfigurable, and readily upgradeable.  The goal is to reduce the total cost of procurement by at least 80 percent.

“Rockwell Collins has extensive experience in developing low cost electronically scanned arrays,” said John Borghese, vice president of the Rockwell Collins Advanced Technology Center. “Through this program, we are leveraging our efforts in commercial and military applications to increase the performance of a wide range of applications, including data links, communications, precision timing/navigation, and electronic warfare.”

ESA antennas offer numerous system level benefits such as rapid beam movement, reconfigurable antenna patterns, and graceful degradation of performance as the system ages. This program will make ESA solutions affordable for smaller, low cost applications.