2 May 2025

Antenna Technology Promotes National Security


Issue/Challenge

Ships, satellites, aircraft, and ground systems use a variety of critical capabilities—from radar to communications—to adapt to evolving missions and threats. Many emerging platforms are size-constrained, yet require more and more computing capacity. This places greater emphasis on size, weight, power, and cost.

Motivated to protect U.S. interests and best serve the warfighter, MITRE invested our R&D to prototype the technology for a new class of wideband phased array antennas. The Frequency-scaled Ultra-wide Spectrum Element’s (FUSE) lightweight, compact design is ideal for platforms where space and weight are at a premium—without compromising performance or reliability. 

Impact

Today, the FUSE antenna can be found on communication and sensing platforms in the national security community and commercial sector. This patented, R&D World 100 Award-winning technology has become a force multiplier in the spectrum space, with different next-generation technologies being layered under FUSE to deliver even broader impact for the warfighter.

MITRE’s Solution

FUSE, which was co-invented with the Naval Research Laboratory, meets challenging electronic system requirements for military and civilian use at a lower cost. One FUSE phased array can replace multiple individual antennas, enabling multi-band and multi-function systems—including communications, radar, and electronic warfare. The novel antenna aperture design can be 3D-printed, or additively manufactured, making it more cost efficient.

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