LAKEHURST, N.J. – U.S. Navy avionics experts needed high-power amplifier units for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye carrier-based surveillance aircraft. They found their solution from North Star Scientific Corp. in Kapolei, Hawaii.
Officials of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, N.J., announced a $9.6 million order to North Star Scientific last week for 42 high-power amplifiers for the Navy E-2D fleet. The order includes engineering and engineering data support for high-power amplifier unit kitting, installation, and testing.
North Star Scientific will provide 13 high-power amplifier units for E-2D crypto modernization and frequency remapping aircraft retrofits; 10 amplifiers for E-2D tactical targeting network technology (TTNT) production aircraft; 10 spare amplifiers; five amplifiers for system configuration set-11 E-2C aircraft,; and four amplifiers for E-2D TTNT aircraft retrofits.
North Star Scientific specializes in designing military communications and radar equipment for military systems like the Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye radar plane; the Lockheed Martin's P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft; the littoral combat ship; and other air and sea unmanned vehicles.
In addition to other RF and microwave products, the company builds the Radio Frequency Monitor; UHF VHF AIS Diplexer; 50-Watt Remote Amplifier; Trigger Pulse RF Amplifier; 3-Way RF Switch; Vehicle RF Matrix Switch; Shipboard RF Matrix Switch; 100-Watt Amplifier;; VRC-99B 180-Watt Amplifier; Direction Finding Antenna; High-Voltage Modulator; TCDL Antenna; TR Switch; and Solid-State/Vacuum Hybrid.
Among the power amplifiers from North Star Scientific is the airborne VRC99B 50-Watt power amplifier for different aircraft. It has a frequency range of 1.7 to 2 GHz; a minimum power output of 50 Watts; an input voltage of 28 volts DC; RS-422 Control; and measures 7.75 inches wide, 6.39 inches high, and 11.32 inches long.
North Star Scientific offers design capabilities that involve antenna/microwave design and analysis; digital, analog, and high voltage design; MIL-STD 461; MIL-STD 704; MIL-STD 810; MIL-HDBK 217; field-programmable gate array (FPGA) programming; microprocessor programming; LabView programming; custom test equipment; CAD modeling; thermal-fluid analysis; and structural analysis.
The company's test capabilities include antenna measurement; shock and vibration; temperature cycling and thermal shock; humidity; altitude; combined temperature and altitude; combined temperature and humidity; rapid decompression; salt fog; EMI; flow rate and pressure drop; wire bond pull; hermeticity; and internal gas analysis.
On this order North Star Scientific will do the work in Kapolei, Hawaii; and Carlsbad, Calif., and should be finished in August 2022. For more information contact North Star Scientific online at www.nsshawaii.com.
