BAE Systems Advanced Technology Centre (ATC) has been selected to join the European Antenna Centre of Excellence (ACE) initiative, established to provide a European wide platform for research and development into the next generation of antenna technologies. The ACE initiative is funded to the order of €4.9 M under the European Union Framework 6 programme conceived to encourage co-operation and collaboration between companies across national borders.
ACE consists of 45 member organisations drawn from industry and academia and is borne out of the recognition that the current antenna engineering research and development spending of approximately €200 M per year is spread across Europe. This fragmentation has been identified as a major area of weakness in European competitiveness, primarily due to the large amount of research duplication. The aim of the ACE initiative is to restructure the way antenna R&D is pursued, encouraging increased co-operation between research organisations enabling member organisations to increase efficiency and hence boost their competitive edge.