In the framework of a collaboration with Elettronica Aster S.p.A., a company operating in the defense market as a manufacturer of electronic devices for transmission and control applications, a number of X-band and Ku-band flat plate antennas where designed and manufactured, to address the needs for high-performance and broadband multifunction radar and data-link systems for avionic applications.
In the following, more details of two X-band products employing 12-inch circular flat plates designed with SWAN™ will be provided: AGCU P/N 8301U000 and WBAGCU P/N 8305U000, two miniaturized antenna groups for aircraft nose installation, optimized for small volume, low weight and power consumption to meet a wide range of airborne platforms. The integrated Electronic Control Unit (ECU) provides Line of Sight stabilization in north-east-down (NED) system and manages scanning and pointing operating modes (commands and attitudes via RS422).
AGCU P/N 8301U000 Flat Plate
X-band two-layer CNC-machined dip-brazed antenna with maximized bandwidth, minimized weight and thickness and excellent performance over 350 MHz.
RF Characteristics
| Parameter | Value |
| Minimum Gain | 28 dB |
| Bandwidth | 350 MHz @ X-Band |
| Elevation SLL | Less than 20 dB |
| Azimuth SLL | Less than 20 dB |
| Polarization | Linear Horizontal |
| VSWR | 1.5:1 |
WBAGCU P/N 8305U000 Flat Plate
The antenna, realized with precision CNC machining and assembled in dip brazing technology, is made of only three low-profile waveguide layers, thus exhibiting an extremely low profile and light weight, yet guaranteeing excellent performance over the whole unparalleled 1-GHz operative bandwidth in the X band. Achieving such a wide band performance is extremely challenging with this technology, making this antenna one of a kind.
RF Characteristics
| Parameter | Value |
| Minimum Gain | 27 dB |
| Bandwidth | 1000 MHz @ X-Band |
| Elevation SLL | Less than 20 dB |
| Azimuth SLL | Less than 20 dB |
| Polarization | Linear Horizontal |
| VSWR | 1.5:1 |
