US 12,113,280 B2
Airborne redirection unit for deflecting a radio frequency energy beam
Nicholas Giacomo Robert Colosimo, Preston (GB); Keith Antony Rigby, Preston (GB); and Christopher Charles Rawlinson Jones, Preston (GB)
Assigned to BAE Systems plc, London (GB)
Appl. No. 17/613,182
Filed by BAE Systems plc, London (GB)
PCT Filed May 7, 2020, PCT No. PCT/GB2020/051118
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Nov. 22, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/234564, PCT Pub. Date Nov. 26, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 19275068 (EP), filed on May 23, 2019; and application No. 1907285 (GB), filed on May 23, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0311146 A1, Sep. 29, 2022
Int. Cl. H01Q 19/06 (2006.01); H01Q 19/10 (2006.01); F41H 13/00 (2006.01); G01S 13/75 (2006.01)
CPC H01Q 19/062 (2013.01) [H01Q 19/10 (2013.01); F41H 13/0075 (2013.01); G01S 13/75 (2013.01)] 7 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method of illuminating a target with RF energy, the method comprising:
providing a steerable source of RF energy configured for generating a platform RF energy beam;
deploying an airborne redirection unit (ARU) configured for redirecting the platform RF energy beam, the ARU comprising:
a parachute canopy comprising a surface configured to slow a rate of descent of the ARU without arresting or reversing the descent of the ARU; and
a beam director supported by the parachute canopy;
transmitting by the steerable source of RF energy the platform RF energy beam towards the ARU, thereby illuminating the ARU;
receiving at the ARU the platform energy beam; and
redirecting by the ARU the platform RF energy beam so as to provide a redirected RF energy beam that is directed towards the target, said target being thereby illuminated by the redirected RF energy beam;
wherein the method does not include accepting and processing of any data intentionally transmitted by the target.