Lightning protection testing of the E-6 long trailing wire antenna

Lightning test were conducted on the US Navy E-6 aircraft long trailing wire antenna (LTWA) in accordance with MIL-STD-1757 to demonstrate compliance with MIL-B-5087B lightning protection requirements. The tests were conducted on a 22-foot-long, full-sized, electrically representative model of the LTWA. Two types of tests were conducted: direct structural effects and indirect effects. In the direct effects testing, the test article withstood the application of four series of lightning current waveforms with no structural damage. In the indirect effects testing, initial induced current and voltage measurements were performed on each of the 16 wires in the test article wire harness. The measured voltages, when extrapolated to the full thread strike level, exceeded the MIL-B-5087B limit of 500 volts.<>