Advanced antennas for air vehicle flight test evaluation. Navy SBIR FY2009.1 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2009.1 Topic No.: N091-041 Topic Title: Advanced antennas for air vehicle flight test evaluation. Proposal No.: N091-041-0978 Firm: Toyon Research Corp. 6800 Cortona Drive Goleta, California 93117-3021 Contact: Andrew Richen Phone: (805) 968-6787 Web Site: www.toyon.com Abstract: The utility of precision strike weapon flight testing is critically dependent on the use of fleet-representative test articles. The Navy has a need for a suite of flight test antennas that allow communication with the weapon under test without impacting the weapon's aerodynamic or observability characteristics. Toyon proposes to design a suite of antennas for operation of flight termination, Link 16, S-band telemetry, and C-band transponder/beacon systems on strike weapons. The proposed antenna suite will mount conformally to the airframe, and will be designed for use on highly survivable platforms. Toyon will build and test an electrically representative prototype antenna during the Phase I effort, and will construct flight-ready antennas during Phase II. Benefits: The proposed antenna suite will improve the fidelity of precision strike weapon flight tests by minimizing the aerodynamic and signature effects of communications antennas added to weapons during flight testing. Similar antenna technology could be applied to UAV's or other small or low-observable platforms that undergo experimentation at DoD test ranges. Return