Electronic Warfare

CPI products amplify incoming signals from enemy radar or communications systems to enable the electronic warfare system to deceive or disable the threat, protecting ground installations, ships and aircraft against radar-guided weapons. CPI has installed thousands of products for high-power phased array systems and expendable decoys. New initiatives for high-power microwave applications, such as counter-IED and personnel deterrent systems using CPI's products, are currently in field trials.

Electronic Countermeasure (ECM) Systems:

CPI produces vacuum electron devices (VEDs) – specifically, helix traveling wave tubes (TWTs) – and high-power transmitter subsystems for the electronic warfare market. CPI is one of the world’s largest suppliers of VEDs for high-power, multi-beam ECM systems, and its experience in manufacturing mini helix TWTs is unmatched. To date, CPI has delivered more than 100,000 mini helix TWTs for use in ECM systems, and CPI’s ECM components are designed to deliver the highest mean time between failures (MTBF) in the world.
The electronic warfare market utilizes CPI’s VEDs for threat-protection systems for ships, aircraft and high-value land assets, guarding them against radar-guided munitions that utilize semi-active or active radar to hone in on their targets. Incorporating CPI’s electronic warfare products, these threat-protection systems can be deployed internally in an electronic warfare platform, included in a pod that is hung under the wing of an aircraft or used as a stand-alone decoy.
CPI also designs and manufactures radomes that enable current and next-generation electronic warfare, ECM and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems. These radomes use very low-loss materials that enable the receipt of low-level signals as well as the transmission of high-power emitters. Novel radome wall designs enable a very broadband response with the extreme phase and amplitude uniformity required for modern direction finding (DF) systems. CPI’s radomes have been certified for use in airborne, shipborne, ground, and underwater applications.

Decoys:

With the increasing sophistication of incoming threats, the demands placed on the TWTs used in active decoys continue to increase. Helix TWTs manufactured by CPI remain the standard by which all other suppliers are measured. From airborne repeater decoys to high-power off-board decoys protecting naval assets, CPI’s unmatched development and production capabilities ensure that you can rely on CPI as your source for cost-effective, highly reliable helix TWTs.

Non-lethal Weapons:

CPI has developed high-power millimeter-wave gyrotrons in support of the Department of Defense's Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate, Advanced Concept Technology Program. The system would provide a non-lethal option with a longer effective range than traditional weapons, addressing a growing need for effective tools to fill the gap between shouting and shooting. CPI gyrotrons are thus at the forefront of efforts to deliver new capabilities to U.S. forces in support of increasingly complex missions.

Counter UAVs:

The use of high-power microwave (HPM) applications in electronic warfare is growing. As the unmanned aircraft system (UAS) market has thrived, and with the expected integration of artificial intelligence and swarm capabilities into these systems, counter UAS (C-UAS) strategies are required. HPM applications play a crucial role in the ability to designate friend-or-foe (FOF) and track and eliminate threats to allied warfighters and critical infrastructure such as oil fields and government institutions. CPI provides dynamic tracking pedestals that support such applications, with a proven portfolio of baseline configurations that can be modified to meet specific applications.