Anokiwave, Inc. and Tidalloft Avionics Research LLC, a company developing software-defined phased array radars, announced a collaboration to develop compact, lightweight X-Band radars for the aviation market.

Phased array radar systems at X-Band are the perfect balance of range, target resolution and size. They enable capabilities to detect and monitor obstacles from significant distances, even amidst clutter. X-Band radar systems are lightweight and are self-contained for ease of integrating into most aviation systems.

Anokiwave’s X-Band beamforming ICs (BFICs) are enabling Tidalloft to develop a compact X-Band radarfor the aviation market. The system leverages an integrated software-defined radio tightly coupled with a beam steering controller to provide remote sensing coverage over a wide field-of-regard. Using on-board DSP, Tidalloft provides high sensitivity systems with low DC power consumption, compared to legacy solutions.

“AESA radars require low-cost, low profile, and high performance in order to operate in today’s complex environments,” stated Robert S. Donahue, CEO of Anokiwave. “The X-Band BFICs, featuring high resolution and stable phase and amplitude control for fast accurate beam steering and shaping, allow our customers to quickly develop new radar systems with optimized cascade performance. We are happy to work with an innovative company like Tidalloft that is developing new markets for aviation radars with lower RF power emission, lower false detection and higher dynamic range.”

“Anokiwave has been at the forefront of mmWave IC development for years and their product offering remains unique in the market,” stated Matthew Stoneback, Tidalloft co-founder. “It is a very natural cooperation since we are employing mmW technology to the new segments of aviation markets. Our solid aviation industry background enables us to uniquely understand our projects and market needs.”