Award Title: Compact, Steerable High-Power Antenna for Army Directed Energy Weapons Recipient: SCIENTIFIC APPLICATIONS & RESEARCH ASSOCIATES, INC. Funding Agency: Department of Defense (Army) Phase: Phase II Amount: $729,788 Contract #: DASG60-01-C-0024 Agency Tracking #: A992-2108 DUNS: 614108918 Tags: defense, antenna, microwave, weapons, military, engineering, RF SARA is developing a lightweight, rapidly-steerable antenna that may enable the generation and direction of high-power microwave beams for the U.S. Army, potentially addressing the challenge of deploying advanced weapons on standard military vehicles. The U.S. Army seeks to deploy high-power microwave (HPM) weapons—devices that emit intense electromagnetic pulses—on vehicles and aircraft. A key challenge is that these weapons require antennas that are both extremely powerful (generating over 100 megawatts of peak power) and highly directional (focusing the beam like a pencil rather than spreading it like a flashlight), while remaining light enough to mount on standard military platforms. SARA's approach appears to combine advanced antenna design with precision engineering to create an L-band antenna (a specific radio frequency) intended to meet these requirements. During Phase I, the company used computer simulations and lab testing to refine the antenna's design, potentially improving its gain (directional strength), efficiency, and compactness. In Phase II, they plan to build two working prototypes and test them with actual high-power microwave sources to assess performance and make refinements for possible field deployment. Current high-power microwave antennas are typically large, heavy, and fixed in place—generally unsuitable for deployment on mobile military platforms. The Army has identified a need for a practical, field-deployable HPM antenna but has lacked a design that could achieve both the required power output and directional focus while staying lightweight and compact. Existing antenna designs often sacrifice one requirement to meet another: they tend to be either powerful but bulky, or light but inefficient. SARA's approach appears to use advanced electromagnetic modeling and materials engineering to potentially address this tradeoff, aiming to create an antenna that performs well across multiple dimensions. This research is occurring now because directed energy weapons are increasingly viewed as a priority for modern defense, and the ability to mount them on mobile platforms could offer the U.S. military significant tactical advantages. Without this development, such weapons would likely remain stationary installations rather than responsive field tools. This antenna could potentially enable the U.S. Army to mount high-power microwave weapons on standard tactical vehicles like Humvees or helicopters, possibly giving military units rapid-response directed energy capabilities in the field. Rather than requiring a dedicated, large facility to house such weapons, soldiers might deploy them quickly from mobile platforms. The technology could support electronic warfare applications, such as potentially disabling hostile radar or communications systems without physical explosives. It may also be useful for counter-drone operations, where the directed energy beam could disable unmanned aircraft threats. Beyond military use, similar antenna technology might eventually support civilian applications in electromagnetic testing, communications, or scientific research where compact, high-gain, steerable antennas are needed. The Army could gain a deployable directed energy capability that might reduce reliance on conventional munitions in certain scenarios, potentially lowering operational costs. Development of this antenna technology supports jobs in advanced manufacturing and defense engineering at SARA and its suppliers, contributing to the skilled workforce in California's aerospace and defense sector. This work appears to advance antenna design techniques and electromagnetic modeling methods (mathematical representations of how electrical and magnetic fields behave) that could potentially be applied to other high-power RF (radio frequency) applications. The combination of analytical, numerical, and experimental tools developed here may provide a replicable methodology for addressing complex antenna engineering problems in other contexts. Directed energy weapons that can be rapidly deployed and controlled might offer the potential for more precise military operations with reduced collateral damage compared to conventional explosives. Over the longer term, advances in high-power microwave technology and antenna design could support civilian applications in medical imaging, materials processing, and scientific research. Scientific Applications & Research Associates (SARA), Inc. is a 100% employee-owned small business based in Cypress, California, founded in 1989. The company specializes in technology solutions in areas such as RF, EMP, Pulsed Power, Acoustics, and Threat Warning, primarily serving the defense and aerospace sectors. With a workforce of approximately 157-206 employees, SARA focuses on developing customized technologies for U.S. military and commercial applications, emphasizing innovation and rapid development. SARA designs and manufactures a range of products, including measurement and analysis systems, RF shielding solutions, and advanced threat detection systems. Their offerings include the Artificial Perception and Threat Awareness (APTA) Group, which provides compact systems for RF geolocation and acoustic-based threat detection. The company supports various government agencies, including the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and the Department of Defense (DOD), in testing and standards development. SARA is committed to delivering cost-effective solutions and maintaining high standards in research, design, and production. Founded: 1989 Employees: 210 Revenue: 27.2M Website: sara.com Address: 6300 Gateway Drive, Cypress, CA 90630, US This proposal responds to a key challenge faced by the U.S. Army in fielding L-band HPM devices: the need for a high peak-power (>100 MW), pencil-beam (G ~ 30 dB) antenna, which is also lightweight (< 250 kg), rapidly-steerable, and compact enough to be deployed on a standard Army land vehicle or air platform. During Phase I, SARA applied a powerful combination of analytical, numerical, and experimental tools to simulate and/or measure the electromagnetic behavior of all the key components of our proposed approach. We performed in-depth assessments of gain, power-handling, steerability, bandwidth, polarization, and more. This work led to improvements in our initial parameter choices, resulting in higher gain, greater compactness, and greater efficiency. Our conclusion is clear: we can definitely meet the Army's requirements for a practical, deployable, compact, lightweight, rapidly-steerable, high-gain, L-band HPM antenna. In Phase II, SARA will construct two prototype antennas for experimental pattern characterizations and high-power tests, the latter to be performed with an ARL-supplied HPM source. The resulting data, in concert with more sophisticated numerical modeling and analyses, should drive additional improvements. The mechanical support structure and steering/folding mechanisms will be engineered with a strong emphasis on suitability to tactical field applications. 1. Charcoal-Powered Fuel Cell for Rural Biomass Energy Generation (DOE, Phase I, $74,590) 2. RF Plasma Method May Improve Iodine-Based Laser Weapon Efficiency (DOD, Phase II, $749,983) 3. Acoustic Sensor System for Detecting Multiple Moving Vehicles (DOD, Phase I, $119,987) 4. 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