Phased Arrays Radars (PARs) for civilian applications and multifunctional systems need a new generation of reconfigurable reliable smart modules, (that include GaN MMICs and RF MEMS) in order to reduce the cost for mass production, while increasing the level of performance and reliability. In current ‘brick’ architecture, all elements of active channels (radiating elements, distributions and active components) are placed perpendicularly to the radiating aperture plane, resulting in heavy, bulky and complex antenna structure. The NANOMAT concepts allows for the safe adoption of innovative architectures, which consists of a layout architecture for active arrays where radiating elements (RF and electronic components for transmit and receive channels) are organized parallel to the radiating aperture plane. This results in dramatic size and weight decrease. This is the key requirement of the industry for its next generation civilian radars.

The Radar market is quite reliable because there are cycles of approximately 15 years for radar replacements and Thales is one of the two main global players. In the Satcom market no one has a significant market share and Thales expects to raise sits share through NANOMAT. In the UAVs market again Thales is one of two global players and expects through NANOMAT to attain a 10X increase.