Realisation of Wideband Miniaturized T/ R Modules for Electronic Warfare Applications

Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) with each element connected to a Transmit / Receive (T/R) Module is the requirement of present-day Electronic Warfare (EW) systems. This paper discusses the design, development and performance of T/R modules realized in a width of less than a centimeter using discrete Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) MMICs. This enables the direct blind mating of the T/R module to the Antenna Array avoiding interconnecting cables making the system less bulky and more efficient. The realized T/R module is Size, Weight and Power (SWaP) optimized with output power of 28 dBm, low power consumption and low noise figure.