Electronic-warfare (EW) systems play important roles on the modern battlefield, on land, at sea, and in the air—including outer space. By virtue of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) requirements for smaller size, weight, and power (SWaP), what were once rooms filled with racks of equipment are being shrunk to mobile, portable systems that must stand up to rough treatment under harsh operating conditions.
In recent years, EW system designers have counted on RF/microwave component and subsystem suppliers for smaller, lighter hardware to keep pace with customer demands for more electronic functions in smaller spaces. They’re also faced with EW systems handling more data from more sensors, requiring wider operating bandwidths that push into the millimeter-wave (mmWave) frequency range to handle the huge amounts of data at faster transfer rates. The emergence of 5G cellular wireless networks may aid both commercial and military users.