Business Opportunities in the Military Sector - IEEE Xplore

Business Opportunities in the Military Sector ■ Terry Edwards

L

ong before the momentous developments in cellular phones and the accompanying infrastructure, decades before microwave ovens were even dreamt of, microwaves were driven onward by the pressing military technology requirements of World War II. The 1940s saw a necessarily massive effort in largely tube-based microwave technology—with the Massachussettes Institute of Technology (MIT) in particular, famously driving research and development into new devices and techniques. Klystrons, magnetrons, and traveling wave tubes (TWTs) formed the principal devices needed for the generation and amplification of microwave energy from hundreds through thousands of megahertz and applications were mainly in radar systems. Several years later in the 1960s, varactor-based parametric amplifiers enabled solid-state low-noise microwave amplification for sensitive radars and satellite receivers. Fast-forward to 2009 and we see that the campaigns in both Afghani-

Terry Edwards (terry.edwardsvic@btinternet. com) is Executive Director for Engalco, England. Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MMM.2009.935205

28

amplifiers and both microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and nanoelectromechancial systems (NEMS). Hybrid microwave integrated circuits (HMICs) and multi-chip modules (MCMs) now form vital microwave technologies, and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) approaches have served to drive down the costs associated with applications into military PHOTO COURTESY OF U.S. ARMY microwave systems. Alongside rectangular waveguide transmission, stan and Iraq theaters have continued to drive upwards electronics require- we now have technologies such as ments in military and security appli- microstrip, coplanar waveguide, and cations. This applies to airborne, suspended-substrate stripline. Dielectric battlefield, and naval radars as well as resonators and metamaterials are also electronic warfare (EW) systems. Mili- important contributors to this currently tary satellite systems include advanced burgeoning industry. Tubes such as extremely high frequency (AEHF), TWTs are still in demand for relatively Skynet 5, wideband gapfiller (WGS), high continuous-wave (CW) transmit surveillance spacecraft, and ground power, such as for some satellite comterminal upgrades. Most national (and munication SATCOM uplinks. It is well worth putting into conNATO) military budgets will continue to increase, though often more slowly text the approximate market sizes and therefore, some measure of the busithan in recent years. For implementation in military sys- ness prospects. Overall military hardtems, we now have monolithic micro- ware markets run well into the high wave integrated circuits (MMICs) and tens through to hundreds of billions of radio-frequency integrated circuits (2009) U.S. dollars (US$). The markets (RFICs) capable of operation well into for systems—electronic warfare, radars, millimeter-wave frequencies. We also communications—amount to some have gallium nitride (GaN)-based tens of billions of (2009) US$ and the

February 2010

TAMs (US$ Billions)

Obviously power supplies, digmarkets for microwave modules 4.0 ital processing modules (DSPs), and subsystems come in around 3.5 and other components are also the billions of US$ levels. We usu3.0 vital but these fall outside the ally talk in terms of total available 2.5 scope of microwaves. markets (TAMs), which are the 2.0 1.5 The thorny subject of Intertotal markets minus captive mar1.0 national Trade in Arms Regulakets. Captive markets are defined 0.5 tions (ITAR) remains a serious as those already taken up by com0.0 issue affecting military business. panies that are vertically inte2008 2009 Under U.S. law, ITAR, like much grated to the extent they acquire well-intentioned regulatory law many of the required modules Figure 1. Total available markets (TAMs) for military definitely has a highly negative and subsystems internally, from microwave modules—covering Europe, most of the side that suppresses otherwise wholly owned subsidiaries. BAE Americas, and most remaining regions (US$ billions). good business. For example, systems, Raytheon, and Thales ITAR has also been adversely represent important examples of affecting the military spacecraft these types of companies. Manufacturer of side and there at least two reaEstimated total available marCeramic Packages sons for this: kets for microwave modules into (Housings) • Spacecraft manufacturers are military applications are shown rarely if ever exclusively miliin Figure 1. [1]. The geographic MMIC Supplier tarily oriented—specific manuregions covered include Europe, Module and/or (Fabless or PureSystems OEM facturers tend to develop both most of the Americas, and most Play Fab) commercial and military models. remaining regions. • Many of the (COTS) spaceThese markets cover products Suppliers of Other qualified components that go into for various bands across all freRF and Related military spacecraft are also requencies ranging from about 800 Components quired for commercial satellites. MHz through 200 GHz that is all We will not expand any furmicrowave and millimeter-wave Figure 2. Typical overall supply chain applicable to ther on this issue here but suffice frequency bands. many original equipment firms manufacturing military to say, several original equipThe data in Figure 1 should systems based on microwave technology (modules and ment manufacturers now offer be compared with the total glosubassemblies are often included under components). ITAR-free products. bal telecommunication equipActive electronically scanned ments, currently amounting to around US$700 billion annually. Often a prime manufacturer of MMICs, Hit- arrays represent one of the most sigamounting to around 10–12% per annum, tite Microwave and Mimix Broadband nificant developments in recent years, market growth rates attributable to the are important fabless MMIC provid- with applications into advanced military sector are usually fairly mod- ers and other required components radars and also some communicaest when compared with the growth include passive substrates (alumina, tions systems. An active electronically rates seen in several commercial (civil) polymer), discrete active components scanned array (AESA) takes the concept (diodes, transistors), and RF connectors. of using an array antenna a step further sectors during recent years. The types of microwave from the passive electronically modules that the data shown scanned phased array (PESA). in Figure 1 encompass include: Instead of shifting the phase of a m p l i f i e r s , s i g n a l sources, signals from a single high power ferrite components, electronic transmitter, an AESA employs a switches, mixers, and subasgrid of hundreds or thousands of semblies (some implementing small transmit-receive modules complex MMICs). A typical supthat are linked together by highply chain structure that applies to speed processors. many original equipment manEach transmit-receive module ufacturers producing military (TRM) has its own transmitter, microwave hardware is shown receiver, processing capability, in Figure 2. [2] phase-shifter, and a small spikeCompanies such as Kyocera like radiator antenna on top. The America and Merrimac IndusTRM can be programmed to act tries manufacture ceramic pack- Figure 3. The active electronically scanned array as a transmitter, receiver, or radar. ages, TriQuint Semiconductor is (AN/APG-77) mounted on the F-22 (Raptor) aircraft [2]. The TRMs in the AESA system

30

February 2010

can all work together to create a powerful radar, but they can perform different tasks in parallel, with some operating together as a radar warning receiver, others operating together as a jammer, and the rest operating as a radar. TRMs can be reassigned to any role, with output power or receiver sensitivity of any one of the subsystems defined by such temporary associations proportional to the number of modules. Each TRM requires a group of interconnected MMICs. So the overall hierarchy is: • the full active electronically scanned array (AESA) system • the underlying TRMs (hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands per AESA system)—and phaseshifters • the required MMICs in every TRM. There are many types of AESAs, installed (or in some instances under advanced development) in aircraft, ships, spacecraft, and land-bases around

the world—including China and Russia. One example is the AN/APG-77 for the F-22 Raptor fighter as shown in Figure 3. The mass of finger-sized elements are clearly visible on the front of the array and there are around 1,600 individual elements, which is quite typical for airborne AESAs. This radar is the fundamental key to the Raptor ’s integrated avionics and sensor capabilities. Located behind every element, each TRM weighs only 15 g and has a microwave power output of 42 dBm. The APG-77 is capable of changing the direction, power, and shape of the radar beam within milliseconds, so it can acquire target data, and in the meantime minimizes the chance of the radar signal being detected or tracked by the enemy. While the AN/APG-77 was specifically designed for the Raptor—and this program will run-down as from

2010—similar AESAs are being productionized for the F-35 (Lightning II) and many other military aircraft including the European Typhoon, plus several other platforms and environments including seaboard, landbased, and spaceborne. According to Engalco [1] worldwide (Europe, most of the Americas, and most remaining regions) AESA installed values are currently approaching US$6 billion and will rise to exceed US$13 billion by year 2015. Worldwide shipments of the required TRMs will exceed one million for the first time in 2012 and MMIC shipments will range between 4 and 6 million through 2015 [3]. With all military systems (including AESAs) there is already an increasing trend toward digitalization. This trend is squeezing out many analog baseband and intermediate-frequency subsystems previous associated with microwave systems. Digital beamforming in radars such as AESAs reinforces this trend, which drives an increasing demand for components such as high-speed analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters. However, GaN-based RF power amplifiers and low-noise amplifiers will remain increasingly in demand—with requirements for components like MEMS (notably for phase-shifters [4]) also increasing. Silicon-germanium (SiGe) and complementary metal oxide silicon (CMOS)-based MMICs will also see increased demand. Whether your company’s business has annual sales amounting to several million dollars, or several billion dollars—or somewhere in between— it is almost certain that you will find good ongoing business in the military sector.

References [1] E nga lco. (20 08) . M ic rowave s Global— Military & Space Systems [Online]. Available: www.engalco-research.com [2] F/A-22 Radar Systems Capabilities. (1998). [Online]. Available: http://www.f-22raptor.com/ af_radar.php [3] Engalco. (2009). AESAs2 Update Report [Online]. Available: www.engalco-research.com [4] K. Van Caekenberghe, “RF MEMS on the radar,” IEEE Microw. Mag., vol. 10, pp. 99–116, Oct. 2009.

32

February 2010