Aerospace & Defense Technology - February 2023 - 15

Electronic Warfare Technology
mercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) and custom parts for applications
operating in harsh environments such as space for
more than 25 years. This experience includes providing
components for electronic subassemblies that operate
below the Earth's surface at temperatures exceeding 230 °C
to supplying high-performance, high-reliability RF filter
assemblies for numerous Mars missions including the Spirit,
Opportunity, Curiosity, and Perseverance. More specifically,
this has included supplying components for re-entry
vehicles that must survive as the lander makes its way to
the planet's surface.
Knowles Precision Devices has also supplied a wide range
of high-reliability filtering options for satellite communications
products from the C-band to the Ka-band. Plus, beyond
the decades of experience Knowles Precision Devices has
helping power electronic components for numerous space
missions, its parent company, Knowles Corp., is well-versed
in supplying tiny, high-reliability microphones for space
missions as well. For example, they've supplied microphones
that were housed within the Mars Rover's SuperCam, capturing
the first recorded sound of Martian wind and rocks being
struck by lasers, as well as the historic flight of the Ingenuity
Mars Helicopter.
Currently, in the U.S., the Pentagon can detect the launch
of a hypersonic missile, but it will then be out of view until
late in the missile's flight path, which means there would be
very little, if any, time left for a counterstrike. That has
forced the Pentagon to prioritize investments in advanced
missile capabilities, such as hypersonic technologies and
directed energy weapon systems as a key facet of its ongoing
modernization effort.
According to a December 2022 announcement, the Office
of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment
is making targeted investments aimed at mitigating
supply chain vulnerabilities, ranging from raw materials
and chemical shortages to critical subcomponent suppliers.
Furthermore, the office has established the new Industrial
Base Analysis and Sustainment Program, and the Defense
Production Act Title III Program, to ensure the timely availability
of essential domestic industrial resources to support
national defense and homeland security requirements. " The
IBAS and Title III programs plan to invest more than $200
million into the hypersonic industrial base to de-risk supply
chains and increase throughput of critical components for
the Navy's and Army's hypersonic programs, " according to
the announcement.
As the U.S. military and its international allies continue to
establish such investments that will tackle many of the electrical
and communication challenges that need to be overcome
to push the boundaries of missile technology to Mach
5 speeds, suppliers with long-established space heritage
remain best positioned to develop components to meet
evolving challenges.
This article was written by Peter Matthews, Senior Technical
Marketing Manager, Knowles Precision Devices. For more
information, visit www.knowles.com.
Aerospace & Defense Technology, February 2023
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Aerospace & Defense Technology - February 2023

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