Raytheon Company

Other

Hughes Missile Systems Company

James G Small

Arthur J Schneider

Carlos M Garcia

Frederick Davidson

Jon Leonard

Lloyd E Kinsey

Donald J Lacey

Henry August

Donald E French

C Vincent Baker

Mark V Zepeda

Carlos E Garcia

Jon N Leonard

Frederick T Davidson

A system and method for refueling unmanned aerial vehicles. The system is adapted to refuel a first unmanned aerial vehicle from a second unmanned aerial vehicle and includes an arrangement for flying the first and second vehicles to proximity within a predetermined range and for connecting an umbilical from the second vehicle to the first vehicle in flight. In the illustrative embodiment, the arrangement for connecting includes a targeting system for electromagnetically detecting a refueling receptacle on the first vehicle. The targeting system includes a first coil around a refueling receptacle on the first vehicle. A seeker is disposed at a first end of said umbilical on the second vehicle. The seeker includes three detector coils adapted to detect a magnetic signal from the first coil around the receptacle on the first vehicle. The coils are mounted such that the detector coils point in different directions. The outputs of the coils are processed to determine the direction and range to the UAV from the tanker UAV.

Method and system for inflight refueling of unmanned aerial vehicles

An optical communication system is provided which includes an optical signal transmitter which communicates high bandwidth, high power frequencies. The optical signal transmitter includes a high efficiency/high power optical source such as an optical magnetron or a phased array source of electromagnetic radiation, and a modulator element. The modulator element may be within a resonance cavity of the high efficiency/high power optical source (intra cavity) or external to the cavity (extra cavity). The modulator element serves to modulate output radiation of the high efficiency/high power optical source to produce a modulated high frequency optical signal which may be transmitted through the air. The optical signal transmitter is particularly useful in providing the last mile connection between cable service operators and end users.

Wireless communication system with high efficiency/high power optical source

An electromagnetic radiation source is disclosed that produces a single mode operation at a desired operating frequency. The electromagnetic radiation source is included in a wide variety of applications including a wireless power transmission system, a system for providing wireless/high-bandwidth communications in accordance with the present invention, a lighting system, an irradiation system, a weapons system, etc.

Optical magnetron for high efficiency production of optical radiation and related methods of use

An electromagnetic radiation source is disclosed. The electromagnetic radiation source includes an anode having a first conductor, a second conductor positioned relative to the first conductor, a plurality of pole pieces coupled to at least one of the first conductor and the second, and at least one mechanical phase reversal positioned along the first conductor or second conductor. Adjacent pole pieces are separated by a gap. The electromagnetic radiation source also includes a cathode separated from the anode by an anode-cathode space, electrical contacts for applying a dc voltage between the anode and the cathode and establishing an electric field across the anode-cathode space, and at least one magnet arranged to provide a dc magnetic field within the anode-cathode space generally normal to the electric field. Electrons emitted from the cathode are influenced by the electric and magnetic fields to follow a path through the anode-cathode space and pass in close proximity to the plurality of pole pieces, and the gaps between adjacent pole pieces provide fringing fields which interact with the electrons to produce single mode operation at a desired operating frequency.

Magnetron anode design for short wavelength operation

A rotating wing aircraft has a rotating fuselage and wings. The aircraft is configured to rotate with the air passing over the wings because of the rotation providing the lift needed to keep the aircraft aloft. The wings have rudders coupled to them, such as at the tips of the wings, to provide force for laterally moving the aircraft. The aircraft may be able to remain airborne by hovering for a long period of time, on the order of days. Power for the aircraft may be provided by a central diesel electric generator, which provides power for electric motors that turn propellers that are on the wings. The aircraft may be used for any of a variety of applications, such as for surveillance, communications, or as a radar platform.

Rotating flying wing aircraft and control system

A general purpose system and method for transmitting and coherently detecting UWB waveforms is predicated on the formation of conjugate pair of UWB waveforms. The in-phase and conjugate quadrature waveforms are orthogonal to each other and have the same power spectrum so that when squared and added they sum to the modulation envelope of the waveforms. By defining the waveform pair in this manner, a relatively simple and inexpensive transceiver can be used to transmit and receive the waveforms and yet preserve maximum range resolution and recover all possible energy in the returned waveforms. The transceiver transmits the in-phase UWB waveform and the conjugate quadrature UWB waveform with either a known time delay or orthogonal polarization relation. The time delay may be varied to suppress aliased return signals. A general purpose receiver detects the return waveforms, aligns them and then processes the waveforms using conventional techniques to extract target information including amplitude, phase, motion, imaging, etc. The transmission and detection of the conjugate waveforms is easily incorporated into a phased array system that comprises a plurality of transceivers.

Coherent detection of ultra wideband waveforms

A particle mass spectrometer includes a supersonic flow expansion nozzle, and a source of a gas having particles entrained therein. The source is in gas-flow communication with an inlet of the expansion nozzle. The particle mass spectrometer further includes a vacuum chamber in gas-flow communication with an outlet of the expansion nozzle, wherein the vacuum chamber has a sufficient vacuum that a gas flow through the expansion nozzle is supersonic, and a microphone having an active element and an output signal responsive to a movement of the active element. The active element is disposed within the vacuum chamber and is positioned so that particles that flow from the outlet of the expansion nozzle impact upon the active element. The output signal of the active element of the microphone is a measure of the masses of the entrained particles.

Mass spectrometer for entrained particles, and method for measuring masses of the particles

An electromagnetic radiation source is provided which includes an anode and a cathode separated by an anode-cathode space. The source further includes electrical contacts for applying a dc voltage between the anode and the cathode and establishing an electric field across the anode-cathode space. At least one magnet is arranged to provide a dc magnetic field within the anode-cathode space generally normal to the electric field. A plurality of openings are formed along a surface of the anode which defines the anode-cathode space, whereby electrons emitted from the cathode are influenced by the electric and magnetic fields to follow a path through the anode-cathode space and pass in close proximity to the openings. A common resonator receives electromagnetic radiation induced in the openings as a result of the electrons passing in close proximity to the openings, and reflects the electromagnetic radiation back towards the openings to produce oscillating electric fields across each of the openings at a desired operating frequency.

Phased array source of electromagnetic radiation

An optical magnetron is provided which includes a cylindrical cathode having a radius rc, and an annular-shaped anode having a radius ra and coaxially aligned with the cathode to define an anode-cathode space having a width wa&equals;ra&minus;rc. The optical magnetron further includes electrical contacts for applying a dc voltage between the anode and the cathode and establishing an electric field across the anode-cathode space, and at least one magnet arranged to provide a dc magnetic field within the anode-cathode space generally normal to the electric field. A plurality of resonant cavities are provided with each having an opening along a surface of the anode which defines the anode-cathode space. Electrons emitted from the cathode are influenced by the electric and magnetic fields to follow a path through the anode-cathode space and pass in close proximity to the openings of the resonant cavities to create a resonant field in the resonant cavities. The resonant cavities are each designed to resonate at a frequency having a wavelength &lgr;, and circumference 2&pgr; ra of the surface of the anode is greater than &lgr;.

Optical magnetron for high efficiency production of optical radiation

An optical magnetron generator is provided which includes an anode and a collector separated by an anode-collector space, a pair of output terminals operatively coupled to the anode and the collector to provide an electrical power output based on an electric field generated across the anode-collector space. The optical magnetron generator further includes one magnet arranged to provide a dc magnetic field within the anode-collector space generally normal to the electric field, and a plurality or resonant cavities each having an opening along a surface of the anode which defines the anode-collector space; an input for receiving electromagnetic radiation from an external source and operatively configured to introduce the optical radiation into the anode-cathode space to establish a resonance electromagnetic field within the resonance cavities. A cathode for introducing electrons into the anode-collector space in proximity to the resonant electromagnetic filed, wherein the resonant electromagnetic field accelerates the electrons within the anode-collector space towards the collector onto which at least one portion of the electrons are collected.

Optical magnetron generator

An optical magnetron is provided which includes a cylindrical cathode and an annular-shaped anode coaxially aligned with the cathode. The anode may include a plurality of wedges arranged side by side to form a hollow-shaped cylinder having the anode-cathode space located therein, and each of the wedges includes a recess which defines at least in part a resonant cavity having an opening exposed to the anode-cathode space. The anode alternatively may include a plurality of washer-shaped layers stacked atop each other. Each of the layers includes a plurality of recesses along an inner diameter which are aligned with recesses of the other layers to define a plurality of resonant cavities along an axis of the cylinder each having an opening to the anode-cathode space.

Optical magnetron for high efficiency production of optical radiation, and 1/2&lgr; induced pi-mode operation

A radar for locating and tracking objects based on the use of a pulsed waveform, each pulse of the pulsed waveform being made up of a plurality of spectral components having different frequencies, including an antenna. The radar further includes a transmitter operatively coupled to the antenna for generating the plurality of spectral components that make up each pulse of the pulsed waveform and a receiver operatively coupled to the antenna for receiving signals at the frequencies of the plurality of spectral components. The radar also includes a signal processor operatively coupled to the receiver for processing the received signals in order to generate and output a radar presentation and to detect the presence of other signals at particular frequencies, a display operatively coupled to the signal processor for displaying the radar presentation, and finally a controller operatively coupled to the transmitter and the signal processor for varying the frequencies at which the plurality of spectral components are generated, such that the transmitter generates spectral components at frequencies different from the frequencies of other signals detected by the signal processor.

Sparse frequency waveform radar system and method

An impulse radar guidance system and method for use with a spinning projectile. The system and method tracks the flight of the spinning projectile using an all-weather radar or tracker. A linearly polarized asymmetric waveform is transmitted at the projectile that comprises a series of repeating pulses having a relatively strong, short, positive electric field pulse followed by a relatively weak, long, negative electric-field baseline. The projectile contains a dipole antenna having a switching diode disposed between respective halves thereof. The waveform is reflected from the antenna which spins with the projectile and reflects a relatively strong signal when the electric field pulse of the asymmetric waveform is aligned along a conduction direction of the diode, a relatively weak reflected signal when the antenna and diode are aligned orthogonal to the electric field pulse, and a small, non-zero, signal when the diode is aligned anti-parallel to the electric field pulse and the diode is back-biased so that respective halves of the antenna are disconnected. The radar or tracker measures the instantaneous roll angle of the spinning projectile during its flight as a function of the state of the reflected signal. The projectile has a maneuvering device, and a receiver that receives commands that causes the maneuvering device to actuate at one or more specific roll-angles to deflect the flight direction of the projectile at a target.

Growing community of inventors

Tucson, AZ, United States of America

James G Small