Overview of present/future needs of MWP for defence system applications

For many years, optical-microwave technologies have appeared as promising for numerous applications. Indeed, fibre-based communications are well established nowadays in digital transmission systems. The maturity and the performances of optoelectronic components, in terms of spectral purity and linearity, are such that today they enable optical transmission and processing of analogue broad-bandwidth microwave signals. Moreover, the inherent parallel nature of light, the low sensitivity to electromagnetic perturbations and the capability to perform processing functions in the optical domain allow the introduction of new concepts such as local oscillator distribution, optical beam-forming, adaptive filtering or radar signal and waveform generation. These new concepts are good candidate for application and further validation into ship or ground-based radars, as well as into space or airborne systems.