An array of antenna assemblies each generate solar power and utilize the generated solar power at that antenna assembly, which enables large amounts of power to be generated. An antenna assembly having a flat antenna layer forming a first outer surface of said antenna assembly, a flat solar layer forming a second outer surface of said antenna assembly, and a flat structural layer having a flat support structure sandwiched between the antenna layer and the solar layer. The antenna layer has a flat antenna plate with one or more antennas at the first outer surface of the antenna assembly to communicate with Earth. The solar layer has a flat solar plate with one or more solar cells at the second outer surface of the antenna assembly to receive solar energy and generate power.

The antenna includes a first antenna unit and a second antenna unit. The first antenna unit and the second antenna unit are disposed on the same surface of a substrate. The first antenna unit includes a first primary radiation unit and a first secondary radiation unit, and the second antenna unit includes a second primary radiation unit and a second secondary radiation unit. A gap exists between the first primary radiation unit and the second primary radiation unit. The first secondary radiation unit is connected to one end of the first primary radiation unit that is away from the second primary radiation unit, the second secondary radiation unit is connected to one end of the second primary radiation unit that is away from the first primary radiation unit, and the first secondary radiation unit and the second secondary radiation unit are located on the same side of the substrate.

An antenna device is presented comprising: a conformal antenna body which has a desired geometry corresponding to a front portion of a platform on which the antenna device is to be mounted, and an antenna unit carried by the antenna body. The antenna unit comprises at least one phased array of antenna elements, the antenna elements of each of the at least one array being arranged in a spaced-apart relationship in a closed loop path along a circumference of the antenna body having a desired geometry corresponding to the front portion of the platform on which the antenna unit is to be mounted. Each of the antenna elements is configured as an end-fire antenna element capable of emitting linearly polarized radiation. The array of the antenna elements is operable as a forward looking end-fire antenna array, enabling electronic steering of an antenna beam by controllably modifying phases of the antenna elements of each array.

Systems, devices, and methods for a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aerial vehicle having a first GPS antenna and a second GPS antenna, where the second GPS antenna is disposed distal from the first GPS antenna; and an aerial vehicle flight controller, where the flight controller is configured to: utilize a GPS antenna signal via the GPS antenna switch from the first GPS antenna or the second GPS antenna; receive a pitch level of the aerial vehicle from the one or more aerial vehicle sensors in vertical flight or horizontal flight; determine if the received pitch level is at a set rotation from vertical or horizontal; and utilize the GPS signal not being utilized via the GPS antenna switch if the determined pitch level is at or above the set rotation.

A lightning protection system of an aircraft includes a wall defining an inner surface and an outer surface. The outer surface is configured to come into contact with a mass of air located around the aircraft. The lighting protection system also includes at least two electrically conductive lighting traps received in holes traversing the wall and at least one strip with pellets having an electrically insulating substrate and electrically conductive pellets spaced apart from one another on the electrically insulating substrate. The strip with pellets is fastened on the wall by the two lightning traps. The strip with pellets is attached on the inner surface of the wall.

A Yagi-Uda monopolar antenna configured to be mounted on the conductive surface of a vehicle, especially an aircraft. The antenna comprises: a radiating element, taking the form of a conductive plate, for example one having the shape of a disc, which plate is equipped with a return conductor; a reflecting element; and at least one directing element taking the form of a monopole that is folded on itself. The various elements are mounted on a substantially planar surface such as the skin of the fuselage of an aircraft. The antenna simultaneously has a wide operating band, a good compactness and a good directivity. It may especially serve as joint antenna for a plurality of air-ground communication systems of an aircraft.

A stripline conformal patch antenna is disclosed. The antenna comprises circuit board that includes a composite dielectric which has a bottom surface and a top surface. The bottom surface comprises a bottom surface conductive ground plane. The top surface comprises an array of a plurality of conductive antenna elements and a top surface conductive ground plane disposed around the plurality of antenna elements. The stripline conformal antenna also includes a conductor, extending from an antenna input through the composite dielectric, the conductor forming a stripline between the top surface conductive ground plane and the bottom surface conductive ground plane. A plurality of electrical vias extend through the composite dielectric, electrically shorting the bottom surface conductive ground plane and the top surface conductive ground plane.

An antenna arrangement for an aircraft for fastening to an outer side of an exterior skin of the aircraft has a body and side wall sections and a connecting section. The body is U-shaped or H-shaped if viewed from a predefined direction and can be flowed through with a low aerodynamic drag by a flow along the predefined direction. The antenna arrangement has one or more antennas in the form of a printed circuit board and of which each is fastened to the body and is fastenable directly to the outer side of the aircraft exterior skin at two first edges of the side wall sections which form two free ends of the U-shape or H-shape on a first side of the connecting section or, for the U-shape, on the connecting section and/or regions of the side wall sections, which regions adjoin the connecting section directly as the predefined direction is parallel to the flow direction during flight.

Antennas for radiating radio frequency energy that are integrated into a structure are provided. In particular, one or more nonconductive slots are formed in one or more convex layers or surfaces of a structure. Moreover, each nonconductive slot can be associated with one or more feeds. In at least some embodiments, the structure is an airfoil with a first convex surface joined to a second convex surface along an edge, and the at least one nonconductive slot extends from a point in the first surface or a layer of the structure including the first surface across the edge to a point in the second surface or a layer of the structure including the second surface.

An aircraft comprising a skin, a multiplicity of antenna arrangements, each of which is arranged in a different region of a corresponding multiplicity of mutually spaced regions of the skin and comprises an antenna element that is arranged and configured to emit radio waves into a surrounding area of the aircraft, and a multiplicity of visual indicators, each of which is assigned to a different antenna arrangement of the antenna arrangements. Each of the visual indicators is arranged on the skin or on the antenna arrangement in the region of the skin in which the assigned antenna arrangement is situated in such a manner that it is visible from outside the aircraft and emits light during operation in an on state.