MBDA develops advanced ceramic radome for future high-speed missiles

MBDA Italia’s Fusaro facility has developed a new advanced ceramic missile radome. (MBDA)

MBDA Italia has concluded development of a new advanced ceramic manufacture process for radio frequency (RF) missile radomes claimed to offer improved strength and environmental performance compared with conventional cast silica structures.

Known internally as NIMAS, the patented material process is designed to form a high-strength, erosion-resistant structure suitable for both supersonic and hypersonic applications. Work to mature and prove the new advanced ceramic radome has been undertaken at MBDA’s Fusaro site near Naples, which is established as the key radome technology centre within the MBDA group.

Fitted to the front end of the missile, a radome must afford the mechanical strength to protect the sensitive RF antenna from airflow and environmental disturbances and cope with the aerodynamic and thermal loads encountered during flight. At the same time, it must be manufactured to have a high level of RF ‘transparency’ to allow electromagnetic waves to pass through.