Computer modelling of performance of installed antennas

The operational consequences of antenna placement must be determined at the initial design stage of complex vehicles such as aircraft, helicopters and ships, tracked during the evolution of the design and finally corroborated on the production vehicle. The author considers the extent to which computer modelling, coupled with the availability of increased computing power, can be used to define the radiation characteristics of installed antennas. Examples of wire-grid models for two aircraft and a helicopter are given