New technology that attacks the long-term maintenance problems of ground-based radar structures – and their associated costs – is translating to commercial success for a California-based small business.

Ebert Composites Corp., with support from the Air Force Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) Program, developed a method to improve the construction of protective shields for radar antennas that attracted a global business partner in the process.

Also known as radomes, existing shields present several significant problems. They delaminate – in essence the layers of material peel apart – and require re-painting to continue to repel water. Additionally, the current crop of radomes are at a high risk of collapse from snow accumulation. Those maintenance challenges combine to cost the Air Force and other federal organizations millions of dollars per year.