MISSILE ANTENNA PATTERNS FOR WIDELY-SPACED MULTI-ELEMENT ARRAYS

Abstract

Multiple discrete antennas distributed around the circumference of a large missile and driven by one transmitter are sometimes used to radiate telemetry omnidirectionally. But driving discrete antennas separated by several wavelengths around the missile body with a single transmitter can result in an antenna pattern with deep nulls in the roll plane. Varying the relative signal phase or amplitude among the signals driving the antennas as well as the polarization of the antennas can be used to change the nulls in an attempt to decrease the null depth. In this paper the effects of phase, amplitude, and polarization on the roll-plane pattern are examined and measurement data presented.