Capabilities

Conformal

Engineered For The Most Challenging Form Factors And Extreme Environmental Conditions

Built to meet the most demanding requirements—from wideband performance and conformal integration to signature management, high shock tolerance, extreme aerothermal resilience, and precise pattern and phase control.

When performance and platform integration are inseparable, FIRST RF’s conformal antenna systems deliver. We engineer wideband, durable, and signature-managed solutions that conform to extreme form factors and survive the harshest conditions—heat, shock, speed, and more. Whether embedded in high-speed aircraft, munitions, or exotic vehicles, our novel materials and processes bring advanced RF capability to the edge of what’s possible.

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A rocket about to take off during the night. Smoke fills the bottom of the photo as the rocket prepares for take-off.

Affordable Signature Control

Low-signature antennas have traditionally been prohibitively expensive. We challenge that outdated convention by reinventing the design approach. FIRST RF delivers rapid solutions that are more cost-effective. reliable, scalable, and optimized for production at volume. With over 10,000 low-signature conformal antennas installed on tactical munitions, fighter aircraft, and UAVs, we deliver proven capability for the warfighter.

Wideband Conformal Antennas and Arrays

Covering from UHF through Ka-Band, FIRST RF’s conformal wideband antennas and arrays provide up to 9:1 bandwidth for the most challenging sensing requirements. Apertures can be customized with multiple phase center spacings and polarization diversity to enable a multitude of functions from a single assembly. Configurations providing standard broadside and fully end-fire spatial coverage are available, depending on mission demands.

Gun-Launched-Compatible Apertures

Gun-launched projectiles undergo extreme accelerations when fired. Antennas deployed on these platforms must survive this harsh mechanical shock without damage or degradation in RF performance. Our apertures are directly integrated into the platforms as conformal, load-bearing structures. The reliability of our designs has been demonstrated through rigorous ground-based air gun testing and live-fire rounds, with various configurations tailored to support a variety of functions.

Hypersonic-Compatible Apertures

Hypersonic platforms travel at Mach 5+ and experience extreme environmental conditions. Our robust RF apertures are engineered to be directly exposed to the airstream and operate through intense thermal loads, enabling various mission-critical functions. The reliability of these designs has been demonstrated through extensive ground testing and multiple hypersonic flights.

Operational Performance Testing and Analysis

Designing for extreme environments requires sophisticated analysis and rugged validation. Our team is equipped with a comprehensive suite of cutting-edge software tools, enabling us to perform the most advanced simulations and analyses. Our technology is not only engineered for resilience—it’s proven in the lab and in the field. We emphasize early prototype fabrication and operational testing, including extreme shock (50,000 g), extreme temperature (600°C+), or both. Our products are fielded on a variety of platforms, including high-speed weapons and gun-launched projectiles.