Technical Education Webinar Series

Title: Low SWaP Innovations for EW Front Ends

Date: May 13, 2026

Time: 8am PT / 11am ET

Sponsored by: RFMW and Nuvotronics

Presented by: Tom Dekker, Sr Product Marketing Manager, and Alexander Smith, RF Product Application Engineer, Nuvotronics

Abstract:
The continued evolution of airborne electronic warfare (EW) systems is placing unprecedented pressure on radio designers to reduce size, weight, and power (SWaP) while simultaneously expanding operational bandwidth. Modern platforms are increasingly required to support legacy coverage from 2 to 18 GHz while extending into millimeter-wave frequencies beyond 40 GHz, often within the same constrained payload envelope. These competing requirements introduce significant challenges in front-end architecture, including antenna integration, filtering, channel density, and overall system efficiency.

This webinar will define the SWaP challenge in practical design terms, exploring how wideband coverage, multifunction capability, and platform constraints impact component selection and system-level tradeoffs in both receive and transmit paths. Attendees will gain insight into Rx SWaP solutions with a review of available Multiplexer, Switched Filter Banks and Antennas and consideration for SWaP on Tx side with high-density combiners. Further, we will review the tradespace for tailoring RF performance verses size in multiple dimensions.

• Understand the core SWaP challenges in airborne EW systems and their impact on wideband, high-frequency front-end design
• Gain insight into key design tradeoffs, including size versus performance, insertion loss versus selectivity, and integration complexity
• Explore representative component approaches, including compact antennas and filter solutions

Presenter Bios:
During Tom’s 3 year tenure at Nuvotronics, he’s been responsible for the product offerings and roadmap definition to the defense markets including products such as Filters, Integrated Filters, Antennas, Couplers, Baluns and Combiners.

Tom’s prior industry roles have focused on new solutions into radio electronics in both passives (Filtronic, Toko) and active devices for SSPAs applications with extensive time pioneering Gallium-Nitride on Silicon-Carbide (GaN-SiC) HEMT at Cree and driving Silicon (Si) LDMOS into ultra-high power SSPAs during a tenure at Ampleon.

Alexander Smith is an RF applications engineer specializing in RF, analog, and mixed-signal hardware development. He has led the design, verification, and production of high-volume, multi-protocol communications platforms for the smart energy and smart city sectors, developed and deployed in-line RF production test suites, and advised on high-reliability PCBA design for manufacturability.

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