Welcome to the May 2009 issue of Penton's Defense Electronics, formerly known as Military Electronics, a digital magazine devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers. The name has changed, but our mission is the same. Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area.
The May 2009 issue offers a blend of news, technology, and new product information of interest to those working on the design of military electronic systems. For example, this month's issue provides the latest information on both analog and digital circuits and systems. The lead Product Feature covers a powerful FPGA solution based on the VPX architecture while the second Product Feature reviews an SDR with integral signal recorder for data acquisition. Design articles cover thermal management in VME systems as well as measurement approaches for mission-critical radios.
The Technology Focus examines TWTs as sources of high-power RF energy, while the COTS Watch evaluates some high-performance substrate materials for military applications. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the April 2009 issue of Penton's Defense Electronics, formerly known as Military Electronics, a digital magazine devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers. The name has changed, but our mission is the same. Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area.
The April 2009 issue offers a blend of news, technology, and new product information of interest to those working on the design of military electronic systems. For example, this month's issue opens with a News Feature on an all-digital receiver based on superconducting technology for multiple-network Link-16 applications. This month's Product Features highlight high-performance power dividers through 50 GHz as well as compact, board-level frequency-hopping radios for use in government UHF and 1.3-GHz bands.
This month's design articles explore the components needed for a superconducting receiver, and techniques for detecting and classifying low-probability-of-intercept radar systems. The Technology Focus presents some ruggedized audio gear, while the COTS Watch reviews a software-defined-radio (SDR) signal surveillance system that can be programmed over standard networks. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. We welcome your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the March 2009 issue of Penton's Defense Electronics, formerly known as Military Electronics, a digital magazine devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers. The name has changed, but our mission is the same. Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area.
The March 2009 issue offers a blend of news, technology, and new product information of interest to those working on the design of military electronic systems. For example, this month's Product Features explore a line of commercially modified resistors for military use, as well as a family of rack-mount solid-state power amplifiers capable of operating as high as 31 GHz. This month design articles detail technologies for protecting sensitive software intellectual property (IP) and a hardware/software solution for merging the many video signal streams of modern simulators into cohesive, high-resolution video displays.
In Final Thoughts, we address the practical need for commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components in military electronics systems and the obstacles to a greater adoption of COTS parts in modern systems. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the February 2009 issue of Panton's Defense Electronics, formerly known as Military Electronics, a digital magazine devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers. The name has changed, but our mission is the same. Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area.
The February 2009 issue offers a blend of news, technology, and new product information of interest to those working on the design of military electronic systems. You'll find Product Features on a compact card-based radar video signal-processing system as well as a high-power transistor based on gallium nitride (GaN) for generating output levels in excess of 1 kW to 1.2 GHz. You'll find a Case Study on how equipment enclosures helped to protect and improve the performance of surveillance recording equipment, and a Technology Focus on how silicon carbide (SiC) device technology came to the aid of power-switching devices, such as uninterruptible power supplies.
Our Final Thoughts article ponders the importance of building-block materials for electronic components and systems, and points out the efforts that two major branches of the Armed Forces are making to advance materials technologies. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the January 2009 issue of Penton’s Defense Electronics, formerly known as Military Electronics, a digital magazine devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers. The name has changed, but our mission is the same. Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area.
This first issue of 2009 offers a blend of news, technology, and new product information of interest to those working on the design of military electronic systems. For example, this month’s Product Features take aim at FRO power amplification, with stories about a new line of discrete power transistors from Frequent Semiconductor as well as the types of power amplifiers that can be created by means of spatial combining of multiple devices, as demonstrated by CAP Wireless. The COTS Watch section highlights electronic equipment enclosures, while the News Feature details the importance of helmet-mounted displays (HMDs) for the US Army’s Land Warrior system.
Additional stories offer guidelines for verifying the performance of a vector network analyzer (VNA) and explain how to use adhesiveless printed-circuit-board (PCB) laminate materials in military electronic systems. Last, but not least, Final Thoughts cautions against cutting defense spending, and urges readers to welcome Mr. Barack H. Obama as our new President. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the December 2008 issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers. Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. Please consider this an "early-warning" message: This digital magazine will undergo a name change starting with the January 2009 issue, to the new name of Defense Electronics.
We are not changing the basic format, just the name, to better represent our expanded coverage starting in January. We hope to deliver even broader coverage of electronic products and technologies, not just for military applications, but also for aerospace and aviation, for space, for homeland security, and to meet the needs of various federal, state, and local government agencies.
The new digital Defense Electronics builds on the print magazine of the 1970's and 1980's of that same name, which faithfully served the aerospace and defense markets with timely information on programs, technologies, and solutions. So please enjoy this last issue of Penton's Military Electronics. And please look for your copy of the new, easier-to-navigate digital Defense Electronics magazine coming in January. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the November 2008 issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. This issue provides a blend of news, technology, and new product information of interest to those working on the design of military electronic systems. For example, this month's Cover Story explores a new analog-to-digital converter (ADC) from Texas Instruments with 16-b resolution and 200-MSamples/s processing speed aimed at military applications. Design articles help specify gaskets and materials for better EMI shielding, along with understanding the effects of input noise on RF-to-digital receiver sensitivity. Product Features investigate a rugged digital camera designed for the punishment of airborne applications, as well as a pair of high-power silicon-carbide (SiC) transistors that deliver kilowatts of power for VHF and UHF radar systems.
Additional stories introduce the latest version of a multidiscipline computer-aided-engineering (CAE) program that can model RF, MEMS, mechanical integrity, and thermal management, as well as an amazing three-dimensional (3D) audio/video simulation developed for military training exercises. Last, but not least, Final Thoughts warns against the far-reaching effects of cuts to military budgets. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better
Welcome to the October 2008 issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. This issue provides a blend of news, technology, and new product information of interest to those working on the design of military electronic systems. For example, this month's Cover Story puts a spotlight on ultrasound cameras from Imperium. They can detect physical cracks and defects under the surface of materials, such as aircraft frames. Design articles in October offer guidance on making antenna and cable measurements, based on a white paper from Anritsu, and how to specify portable power sources for military systems, based on a white paper from Nexergy. October's Product Features introduce a design software collaboration between Applied Wave Research and Mentor Graphics and a rugged rack-mount chassis from Elma Electronics.
Additional stories in October highlight object-recognition software for robotics systems, show how electromagnetic (EM) simulation software can help position antennas on military aircraft, and how hardware/software tools can help analyze security and surveillance data. Finally, Final Thoughts investigates the importance of increasing integration in military systems. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the September 2008 issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. This issue provides a blend of news, technology, and new product information of interest to those working on the design of military electronic systems. For example, this month's Cover Story presents a secure micropackaging approach based on high-grade alumina ceramic lids and high-quality epoxy. September's design articles explore the use of superconductor technology for key components in a direct digital synthesizer (DDS), while the R & D section highlights a unique substate-integrated-waveguide (SIW) Gunn oscillator for millimeter-wave frequencies.
Additional articles in September show how a power amplifier endured MIL-STD-810F environmental testing, how thermal cameras support fixed and mobile surveillance applications, how a multiprocessor VXP design can handle high-speed DSP tasks, and how a line of instrument-grade noise sources can serve as test-signal sources through 40 GHz. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the August 2008 issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. This issue provides a blend of news, technology, and new product information of interest to those working on the design of military electronic systems. For example, this month's Cover Story offers a 10-W, 2-to-20-GHz solid-state amplifier created as a partnership of two companies. August's design articles explain how to choose between using fixed-value or trimmer capacitors, and how to specify traveling-wave-tube amplifiers (TWTAs) for pulsed applications. August's Product Features introduce a line of ruggedized frequency synthesizers for use from 1 to 23 GHz, and a series of front-side-bus (FSB) coprocessor modules that add speed and power to a personal computer.
Additional stories highlight digital RF memories (DRFMs) for electronic-countermeasure (ECM) systems, a new display method called time-multiplex-optical-shutter (TMOS) technology, how software virtual networks (SVNs) can be used to evaluate the performance of tactical communications networks, and how the US Army recruited the in-transit-visibility (ITV) radio-frequency-identification (RFID) system from Unisys to track its equipment and vehicles around the world. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the July 2008 issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. This issue provides a blend of news, technology, and new product information of interest to those working on the design of military electronic systems. For example, this month's Cover Story describes a pair of high-power transistors designed for pulsed radar applications. July's design articles provide a tutorial look at LXI technology for connecting instruments in an automatic-test-equipment (ATE) setup, and how to design beamforming networks for precise control of radiated emissions to and from antennas. July's Product Features explain how LDMOS transistors help drive a solid-state power amplifier capable of 1 kW output power to 512 MHz, and how the license-free 900-MHz band provides the spectrum for a line of secure, Ethernet radios that can stand up to the harshest environments.
Additional stories detail the use of laminate materials for rigid flexible circuits, the COTS availability of frequency/phase converters capable of delivering stable AC power in fixed and mobile installations (including avionics systems), and an LXI-based system that can help with signal routing in ATE systems. Finally, Final Thoughts reviews a visit to the recent MTT-S conference and exhibition in Atlanta and how high-frequency designers are much involved in satisfying the needs of their military electronics customers. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the June 2008 issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. This issue provides a blend of news, technology, and new product information of interest to those working on the design of military electronic systems. For example, this month's Cover Story describes a suite of software tools from Pacific Power Source that speed and simplify testing of electronic devices and systems with AC power sources. June's design articles explain how thermal modeling software was used to create a unique heatsink, and how to find the right RF/microwave filter supplier. June's Product Features cover a broadband 2-to-6-GHz power amplifier with built-in blanking function from CAP Wireless and a series of ATR enclosures with a variety of cooling options from Carlo Gavazzi Computing Solutions.
Additional stories explore DARPA's COSMOS program for growing compound semiconductors on silicon, an ATR chassis designed for MicroTCA applications, and secure voice systems being installed at Air National Guard (ANG) fields. Last, but not least, Final Thoughts probes the use of advanced software tools to help with command decision making when analyzing large amounts of battlespace data. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the May 2008 issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. This issue provides a blend of news, technology, and new product information of interest to those working on the design of military electronic systems. For example, this month's Cover Story details a dual-channel, 16-b digital receiver XMC/PMC mezzanine card from Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing. This issue's design articles explain how to effectively specify RF/microwave filters from a wide array of choices, and how to select analog and digital components for software-defined radios (SDRs). This month's Product Features highlight the use of spatial power combining in a broadband RF amplifier, and how direct-digital-synthesis (DDS) techniques have advanced for use in broadband radar and EW systems. Additional stories unveil a novel vertical transistor architecture that is breathing new life into silicon devices, flexible laminate materials for extreme environments, and the efforts of a new company to accurately model all aspects of a battlefield communications network. Finally, Final Thoughts reveals efforts on the part of the US Army to use new forms of energy, including wind power. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the April 2008 issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. This issue provides a blend of news, technology, and new product information of interest to those working on the design of military electronic systems. For example, this month's Cover Story highlights a single-board computer (SBC) from Aitech Defense Systems with an 8-Gb solid-state drive (SSD) designed to take the pounding of harsh environments. This issue's design articles explain how to cost-effectively apply field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to EW system design, and to use a spectrum analyzer for modulation-domain testing. This month's Product Features detail a scalable SBC with flexible mezzanine extensions from MEN Micro and an extensive line of filters and filter technologies for custom designs from Anatech Electronics. Additional stories describe teamwork in progress between TRAK Microwave and the University of South Florida (USF) to find the roots of oscillator phase noise and how 4DSP is using FPGAs to power a new image-compression platform. Finally, our Final Thoughts look back as DARPA celebrates its first 50 years. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the March 2008 issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. This issue provides a blend of news, technology, and new product information of interest to those working on the design of military electronic systems. For example, this month's Cover Story describes a CMOS-based digital camera capable of capturing 1 million pictures per second, ideal for ballistics and explosives testing. One of the Design articles explains how to select test equipment and the types of measurements to be performed when evaluating the software-defined radios (SDRs) that are now commonly found on the battlefield. This month's Product Features highlight several developments in RF/microwave engineering, with a new family of ruggedized mast cables from M/A-COM and a series of high-performance, space-saving directional couplers from MECA Electronics. Additional stories explore low-power digitizers that provide capture rates to 2 GSamples/s in the PCI card format and how commonality in sensor development is helping make the US Army's Common Sensor Payload (CSP) program pay off. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the February 2008 issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine
devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. In this issue, read about how a small but agile company in the Bronx managed to turn around the design and production of a high-performance tactical microphone, and how a powerful graphics card has been integrated into a compact XMC card format. Find out about fuel-cell technology and how it is being developed as a portable source of electricity for present and future mobile fighting forces. Learn how to specify RF amplifiers for electromagnetic-compatibility (EMC) testing, and how digital video technology can work in support of military troops as well as First Responders. In addition, your February issue offers a brief look at static-analysis technology and how it is being used to evaluate the security and reliability of complex, million-line-code software programs for critical applications. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the January 2008 issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine
devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. In this issue, read how funding from the DARPA-sponsored Center for Commercialization of Advanced Technology program enabled Empirical Technologies develop a noninvasive blood-pressure monitor for battlefield use, and how a superconducting microelectronics (SME) chip from Hypres is helping to miniature military satcom terminals. Also, discover how a VITA 46 (VPX) DSP board from Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing achieved shock/vibration qualification. Learn how to choose a cryocooler for military systems, and how to select the proper test equipment when performing pulsed RF radar measurements. In addition, your January issue debuts a broadband RMS power detector with blazingly fast rise time and 60-dB linear dynamic range. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the December 2007 issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military-electronics area. This issue provides a blend of news, technology, and new product information of interest to those working on the design of military-electronic systems. For example, one of this month’s product features reports on a high-speed digital camera with frame rates as fast as 95,000 frames per second, 800 x 600 pixel resolution, and the capability to withstand acceleration to 100 g’s. The other product feature continues the story of how several companies teamed to achieve new levels of miniaturization in a complex switched filter bank. This month’s R&D page dives into the US Navy’s Deep Siren technology and how Raytheon will enable submarines to communicate globally by a combination of acoustic underwater signals and satellite-communications technology. Our Case Study details the work of a company in Virginia on a noninvasive blood-pressure monitor capable of making beat-by-beat readings. Our Final Thoughts section highlights some of the government organizations that are fostering research and advancements in electronics and other technologies critical to the US military. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the November issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine
devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military-electronics area. In November, explore how the swap from a YIG oscillator to a VCO transforms a signal generator into a fast-switching synthesizer, and how a compact, handheld receiver can be turned into a portable direct-finding (DF) system with the addition of a modular broadband DF antenna. Learn how a partnership of three different companies has resulted in the creation of a low-noise, 10-GHz VCO, and how one instrument maker put the PXI Express standard to work in a 2.7-GHz vector signal generator with 20-MHz instantaneous bandwidth. In addition, your November issue presents a line of Class A linear power-amplifier modules for EW applications and a report on the United States Northern Command’s Situational Awareness Geospatial Enterprise (SAGE) program. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the October issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military-electronics area. In October, read how an upgrade has increased the capture speed of an already-fast digital camera, and how the Romanian Army is using a COTS platform to develop their own future combat systems. Learn how three different companies have started to work together, for the benefit of their customers. And discover how complex modulators and demodulators work. The third and final installment in a three-part Case Study examines the transformation of Boeing Anaheim from a manufacturer to an engineering team with the help of design-for-manufacturing (DFM) simulation software. In addition, your October issue highlights new, miniature spread-spectrum radio modules and test equipment with enhanced pulse modulation for radar testing. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the September 2007 issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military-electronics area. This issue provides a blend of news, technology, and new product information of interest to those working on the design of military-electronic systems. For example, this month’s product features unveil a radiation meter that can check for compliance at multi-emitter sites through 60 GHz without shutting off one emitter, as well as line of vector network analyzers tailored for pulse profiling. Technical articles explain the basics of arbitrary waveform generators as well as a new approach to achieving high levels of solid-state power in radar and avionics systems. New research uncovers a thin-film generator capable of transforming excess heat into electricity. In addition, our first page highlights a single transistor that delivers 1200 W pulsed output power for TCAS avionics systems. Our Final Thoughts section discusses the threat of IEDs and at least one program aimed at overcoming the problem. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the August 2007 issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine
devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. This issue provides a blend of news, technology, and new product information of interest to those working on the design of military electronic systems. For example, product features detail a line of VHF/UHF transceivers for secure communications as well as a family of fast-switching frequency downconverters covering input ranges as wide as 0.5 to 40.0 GHz. Technical articles explore the use of CRC error correction in FPGAs and some basic guidelines to follow when specifying an RF/microwave frequency mixer. In addition, our first page covers a broadband balun with extremely fast rise time for making optimum connections between single-ended signals and differential ADCs. And in our Final Thoughts, discover the irony of fast-growing Homeland Security markets. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the July issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers. Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military-electronics area. This month details some of the important new components and materials that are supporting advances in military electronic systems, including a line of postage-stamp-sized YIG oscillators for applications to 8 GHz and a family of hermetic ceramic packages that house devices operating to 50 GHz. In design news, learn about an approach for establishing a flexible software-defined-radio (SDR) type measurement system that is more compact and less costly than systems based on traditional test instruments. And discover a modular DC power analyzer that can simplify the prototyping and evaluation of DC-to-DC converters, as well as commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) memory modules that provide high levels of data storage security in military and commercial systems. On the first page of this July issue, read about a series of successive-detection log-video amplifiers (SDLVAs) that can be used in applications as broad as 18 to 40 GHz while providing dynamic ranges in excess of 69 dB for detecting and acquiring even low-level pulsed signals. And in our Final Thoughts, learn how Northrop Grumman and SAIC parted ways with a minimum of damage. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the June issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine
devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. This issue highlights some useful test methods for evaluating radar systems and software-defined radios (SDRs). In one approach, the wide instantaneous (modulation) bandwidth of a real-time spectrum analyzer is applied to modern radar systems to display the system’s pulsed waveforms. The article on SDRs details the type of RF measurements that can be made on these programmable radios, and the types of test equipment that are needed for those measurements. Also, the June issue visits the technology of a unique printed-circuit-board (PCB) fabricator in central Canada, with the capabilities of producing repeatable, high-definition PCBs for microwave and millimeter-wave applications in military and space-based applications. Additional articles highlight a new family of flexible DC-to-DC chip modules for handling a wide range of power-supply needs and a 1-kW bipolar transistor for air navigation systems. This month’s Case Study describes how optics and microelectromechanical-systems (MEMS) technologies combine for a unique accelerometer solution. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the May issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine
devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military-electronics area. This issue focuses on power supplies and some of the factors relating to power-supply reliability. Another power-supply topic involves the role of precision, multiple-output supplies in testing tactical radios, such as software-defined radios (SDRs). The first installment in a three-part Case Study examines the transformation of Boeing Anaheim into a modern, highly responsive prime contractor with the help of design-for-manufacturing (DFM) simulation software. In addition, your May issue also highlights a new line of spread-spectrum radio modules for military communications systems. These frequency-hopping board-level solutions operate from 3.4 to 3.5 GHz and provide the security and spectrum efficiency expected from this technology. Also, learn how a line of flat-panel antennas originally developed for commercial communications are finding use in military C-band satellite systems. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the April issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine
devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military-electronics area. In this issue, you’ll learn about a small but hearty company in Bronx, NY that specializes in acoustic technology for aviation and military applications. The company’s headsets and microphones have been in some high places, including Air Force One and even on the moon. You’ll also read about the basics of beamformers and why they are such an essential part of missile-tracking systems, about a line of broadband voltage-controlled oscillators (VCOs) with low phase noise, and about a new line of field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and what they mean to the future of software-defined radios, in particular to the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) program. Finally, this issue concludes a Case Study on unique display technology, explains how to cut power in the design of an FPGA, and presents a new high-power transistor with 400 W output power for TACAN and TCAS systems. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the March 2007 issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine
devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. In this issue, you’ll find stories on a how the ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) earned NATO compliance, how a startup company used a parallel-processor architecture to deliver 10 times the speed of current digital-signal-processing (DSP) solutions, and how millimeter-wave modules expand a vector network analyzer’s (VNA’s) measurement range to 500 GHz. Also, product stories explore custom integrated assemblies from Teledyne Microwave as well as a COTS single-board computer (SBC) with dual-core processors from Diversified Technology. In addition, this issue offers the first installment of a two-part article on head-mounted-display (HMD) technology, and a report on Raytheon’s progress on common-data-link (CDL) technology for Air Force radar and satellite-communications systems. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the February issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine
devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. In your February issue, you’ll find stories on a dual frequency synthesizer based on direct-digital-synthesis (DDS) technology, design articles on selecting an oscilloscope for aerospace and defense applications and on specifying microwave amplifiers for cost as well as performance, a unique software package that assesses the vulnerability of structural designs to different threats, software for simulating cooling in electronic circuits, and a fully integrated UAV system for intelligence gathering. In addition, Part 2 of a Case Study begun last month explains how innovative imaging technology is being used to improve the long-range vision of soldiers on the battlefield. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the January issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine
devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. We start 2007 with a first look at a noted microwave-power-amplifier supplier’s venture into the world of low-noise amplifiers (LNAs) for narrowband and wideband military applications, as well as a Case Study on how innovative imaging technology is being used to improve the long-range vision of soldiers on the battlefield. The issue also offers product reports on a line of compact wireless spread-spectrum modules, a high-speed analog-to-digital converter (ADC) capable of digitizing input signals over a 2-GHz bandwidth with 12-b resolution, and broadband frequency synthesizers with low phase noise and microsecond switching speed. The Technology Focus this month centers on compact blade antennas for JTRS applications. And still there is more. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the December issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine
devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. This month’s issue features stories on a high-performance surface-mount frequency synthesizer with microsecond switching speed across a 2400-MHz bandwidth, an article that explains how to use low-noise preamplifiers to lower the noise floor of a system, the first installment of a two-part article on wideband antennas for JTRS, the second half of a Case Study on how an EM simulator helps the US Navy avoid undersea mines, and a report on how to achieve total protection from dangerous voltage surges. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the November issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine
devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. This month’s issue features stories on a ruggedized, high-performance module for motor control, a 50-W solid-state power amplifier based on gallium-nitride (GaN) transistors, and a company specializing in integrated optics modules for military applications. This issue also includes the first installment of a two-part article on how electromagnetic (EM) simulation tools are helping the US Navy guard against magnetically triggered undersea mines, and a tutorial article on how to achieve the best performance from cascaded RF/microwave amplifiers. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the October issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine
devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. This month’s issue highlights a high-performance frequency synthesizer that overcomes the traditional problem of spurious noise when using direct digital synthesis (DDS). Additional stories explore a pair of broadband amplifiers using tubes and solid-state devices, a low-cost alternative to custom display screens, and a comparison of GaAs and silicon CMOS RF switches. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the September issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine
devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. This month’s issue examines the Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) use of passive radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology in its supply centers as well as a new supplier of solid-state traveling-wave-tube (TWT) replacement amplifiers. Additional stories help to simply the job of specifying solid-state microwave switches, review a powerful digital-signal-processing (DSP) card, and show how electromagnetic (EM) analysis software can cut analysis time when setting up an anechoic chamber. As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the August issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine
devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. This month, we return to that small New Jersey company featured in July to learn more about the technology behind their power-line surge filters for military applications. Also, this issue highlights the spread-spectrum technology and radios of Freewave Technologies, as well as a new line of high-performance spectrum analyzers from Aeroflex. Additional stories uncover a line of miniature traveling-wave tubes (TWTs) and an innovative design approach that is saving space in uninterruptible-power-supply (UPS) systems.
As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the July issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers. Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. This month, a small but vital company in New Jersey reacquaints readers with the meaning of the tag "Made in America" with a line of high-quality power line surge filters for military applications. In the conclusion of a two-part Case Study, Karen McRitchie of software specialist Galorath explains how their software helped Raytheon and the US Navy save millions of dollars on the AIM-9X missile program. Additional features cover the difficulty of developing software for Synthetic Vision (SV) systems and how to analyze phase-locked loops (PLLs) with a real-time spectrum analyzer.
As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we invite your feedback on how to make the next issue even better.
Welcome to the June issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine
devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. This month, Agilent Technologies introduces the industry’s first fully LXI compliant function generator, as this Ethernet-based test standard continues to pick up speed. In the beginning of a three-part Case Study, Karen McRitchie of software specialist Galorath explains how their software helped the US Navy save millions of dollars on the AIM-9X missile program. And a story on Sensatex unveils that company’s unique SmartShirt electronic garment that allows remote monitoring of a soldier’s movement, heart rate, and respiration rate in real-time, using a patented nanotechnology conductive fiber grid.
As always, we try to provide you with the best information in the shortest time possible. And as always, we welcome your comments.
Welcome to the May issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine
devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. This month, for example, an engineer from Falcon Electric will offer advice on optimizing the power systems onboard military aircraft, and how FPGAs can provide DSP functions in JTRS tactical radios from General Dynamics. You’ll also learn about fast-switching frequency synthesizers from Programmed Test Sources, and about a new analog frequency synthesizer from Agilent Technologies with outstanding phase-noise performance.
Welcome to the April issue of Penton’s Military Electronics, a digital magazine
devoted to engineers working on designs for military and aerospace customers.
Each month, our editors try to bring you up to speed on news, applications, and technology in the military electronics area. This month, for example, you’ll read about how Raytheon’s ACU-T communication system helped link forces in the Afghan National Army. You’ll also learn how to make the most of a phase-noise test system. This month’s 16 screens of military-electronics information include features on Peregrine’s new rad-hard 3.2-GHz CMOS PLL for space applications and more on VPX-REDI COTS modules designed for in-field maintenance.
This month features Altera’s approach to COTS for FPGAs, how an advanced FEC approach from Digital Fountain cuts packet loss in hostile communication environments, and how unique multilayer circuit technology from Merrimac Industries supports compact multifunction modules through 100 GHz. The issue also includes the first in a four-part series from Curtiss-Wright on the VPX and VPX-REDI high-speed backplane standards.
COMMERCIAL-OFF-THE-SHELF (COTS) hardware and software is being employed in critical military systems and applications at a growing pace. System integrators are becoming more comfortable with using components and software designed for civilians in military and government communications networks, if not in mission-critical weapons systems. According to a report on the Defense World website (www.defenseworld.net), which originated with research firm Frost & Sullivan (www.frost.com), the European strategic military communications market is being driven by heightened demand for COTS technology. The concept of COTS is simple enough: save money on research by allowing commercial applications to drive the development of software, or an integrated circuit (IC), or embedded computer system, and then qualify the same product for use in a military system.
Transforming the US Army from a traditional manned fighting force to a robotics-assisted technology is a massive undertaking, but perhaps not beyond the realm of a massive program: the Armys Future Combat Systems (FCS) program. The Armys FCS program (www.army.mil/fcs) projects a battlefield of the future filled with remote-controlled vehicles, sensor-guided ground robots, and an advanced real-time wireless communications network. The soldier is part of the network, as much to assist the machines as to stay out of harms way.
In spite of political posturing over the accuracy of the programs cost projections, the FCS passed a functional review earlier this year and has been cleared for testing and development of its myriad technologies. The FCS program includes unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), smart munitions, unattended ground sensors, a non-line-of-sight (NLOS) launch system, an NLOS cannon, and a sophisticated command and control network.
In short, FCS is a true technology driver, much the way that NASAs Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) program helped develop solid-state and vacuum device technology in the 1980s. It is one of the many programs and systems that will be examined at length in future issues of this, the first issue of Pentons Military Electronics digital magazine.
