A proposed HIRF test facility for aircraft testing

Since the high power threat from friendly and foreign emitters continues to grow and the threat of High Power Microwave (HPM) is becoming more of a concern, the Department of Defense (DOD) has been interested in developing a capability to efficiently and thoroughly test aircraft for this High Intensity Radiated Field (HIRF) electromagnetic environment. There are technical challenges and safety concerns to test the electromagnetic immunity of aircraft. A hybrid Transverse Electromagnetic (TEM)/Reverberation chamber has been proposed by NIST and pursued by the Army and the Navy. This paper discusses the general concept of a TEM/reverberation chamber, the work that has been done to develop one, and the plans by the Army and the Navy to build a TEM/reverberation facility.