Quadband Petal Reflector Antenna for Ground Communications: Combining four frequency bands into one innovative and reliable design

Future protected communications require soldiers on the ground to carry several antennas integrated with their manpacks to provide secure and reliable communications at a number of frequency bands. This article describes a novel quadband petal reflector antenna (QPRA) that combines four frequency bands into one using a quadruplexer. A dual-reflector antenna utilizing an axially displaced ellipsoid subreflector being fed with a quad-ridged horn provides communications at Ku-band transmit (Ku-Tx), Ku-band receive (Ku-Rx), K-band receive (K-Rx), and Ka-band transmit (Ka-Tx) frequencies simultaneously. The main reflector is made of six identical petals that can be quickly assembled and disassembled in the battlefield. The antenna is mounted on a lightweight gimbal to provide beam scanning over a hemispherical coverage. The antenna is mounted on a tripod structure for field operations and uses commercial off the shelf (COTS) components and 3D manufactured parts to minimize cost and mass. The novelty of the antenna presented in this article includes a wide bandwidth capability of 73%, the use of a petal reflector, a 3D manufactured quad-ridged horn, a high-performance quadruplexer, and the use of COTS gimbals for beam scanning. Antenna design, analyses, hardware, and test results are presented in this article. The measured results of the antenna agree well with the computed results validating the QPRA design.