Low Life Cycle Cost EHF MILSATCOM Terminal Concepts

Evolution of MILSATCOM terminals utilizing the EHF/SHF (40/20 GHz) frequency band places high demands on the terminal architecture and equipment design to provide required performance consistent with affordable life cycle costs. Factors influencing the terminal architecture and design include covert operation in the presence of a high jamming environment. These requirements are generally achievable only through the use of advanced technology concepts which are usually not consistent with low cost. The effort described in this paper was sponsored by RADC under Contract F30602-81-C-0154. It develops the interrelationship between terminal requirements, available technology and terminal architecture necessary to provide low life cycle cost terminals. An iterative process applied early in the design phase leads to the identification of high cost areas and through analysis and trade-off of technology, design and architecture, lower cost approaches are developed. Life-cycle analysis is accomplished through computer programs providing sensitivity data which is accurate and accountable for both design-to-unit-production-cost (DTUPC) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC).