High Performance, RAYDEL® air-supported radomes feature superior RF characteristics.
The first modern air structure was a radome developed at Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory in the early 1950's. It was specially designed to meet the need for a thin-wall, nonmetallic enclosure to protect large radar systems from high wind and severe weather. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastic's engineering, rooted in that original development, continues to reflect the most recent material technology.
A well designed air-supported radome is fabricated of specially coated, high strength fabrics. Rigidity is achieved by pressurizing the envelope to obtain a synclastic prestress without structural framing. A high-performance radome combines this optimum configuration with electrically superior membrane composites.
An air-supported radome, sheltering a modern close-tolerance antenna, is an effective means of meeting system requirements by providing:
- Reduced antenna wind loads
- Protection from snow and ice
- Increased antenna accuracy
- Corrosion protection
- Easier antenna maintenance
- Increased antenna availability
- Security from off-site observation
- Superior RF performance