USAF explores radar for Agility Prime

Metawave Corporation will provide a precision all-weather radar sensor for a next-generation electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, after being selected by the USAF as prime contractor in Phase I of the Agility Prime initiative.  

An initial study will outline modifications required to the Metawave Spektra radar, so that it can be applied to development of eVTOL aircraft for passenger and cargo transport.

Following completion of Phase I, Metawave will apply for a Phase II contract to bring operational radar hardware to USAF personnel. The Phase II effort ‘will include a series of field tests of the proposed design array under a variety of varied situations and environments’, the company stated on 6 January.

Designed for use in the automotive sector, Spektra is an analog beam-steering radar with high angular resolution. Narrow beams enable it to quickly detect objects in a vehicle's FoV with very high accuracy at up to 330m range, Metawave claims, while avoiding interference.

Working with the Arizona State University Center for Wireless Information Systems and Computational Architectures, Metawave will modify Spektra to operate in 3D airspace and at longer ranges.

The USAF committed $25 million in FY2020 to help kickstart Agility Prime and it is seeking opportunities for early adoption, with the potential for procurement and fielding by 2023. 

R&D funds for these new air vehicles are being provided by private investors, although the USAF (via its AFWERX innovation branch) will help finance testing, certification and procurement. 

To date, AFWERX has awarded $38 million to more than 250 selected proposals for eVTOL technologies.

As part of our promise to deliver comprehensive coverage to our Defence Insight and Premium News subscribers, our curated defence news content provides the latest industry updates, contract awards and programme milestones.