Built for rugged environments, the MegaPhase Warrior Cable provides the essential RF cable connectivity used for Electronic Countermeasures, SATCOM, Electronic Warfare and Phased Array RADAR throughout the Middle East and the world. The cable employs internally armored GrooveTube Technology designed specifically for the warfighter on the ground. Over 100,000 cables have been field tested in the most challenging, rigorous conditions and continue to provide dependable, consistent performance without fail.
Developed to meet the stringent requirements of the US Army, the Warrior Cable is designed specifically for defense applications. The Warrior Cable provides unmatched stability under vibration and flexure. Since it also provides excellent shielding to avoid conflict with adjacent signals, the Warrior Cable is used extensively in RADAR fields. Its mechanical and electrical performance provides the best available options for low loss, low Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) – important qualities for antenna based communication applications.
The need for MegaPhase’s Warrior Cable came from the US Army’s unacceptably high failure rates of cables and connectors in their electronic countermeasure systems, used to defeat Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). Within six months of fielding the Warrior Cable, the army experienced a sizeable decrease in RF cable failures.
“Our sense of urgency comes from knowing our cables are saving lives,” said William Pote, CEO and President of MegaPhase.
The Warrior Cable’s ruggedness, flexibility and superior electronic profile are achieved by MegaPhase’s proprietary GrooveTube® Technology: an ultra-rugged outer conductor withstands 250 lbs/in of crush forces and the jacketing is weather and chemical resistant. The cable’s ultra-flexibility allows for easy installation on vehicles.
MegaPhase’s high performance coaxial cables with GrooveTube® technology are critical for high power and phase-defined systems, including semiconductor manufacturing equipment, electronic defense RADAR and electronic warfare. The cables are used in advanced microwave and optical electronic systems, such as test instrumentation, defense electronics, homeland defense, satellites, communications and semiconductor equipment.
“We describe the Warrior Cable as being ‘Soldier Proof’,” explains MegaPhase’s CEO and president, William Pote. “By that we mean that our first responsibility is to protect the life of the soldier, recognizing the harsh conditions that they must contend with. We have seen situations where the cables were run over by delivery trucks, slammed in Humvee doors, and ammunition cans dropped on them, and in every case, the cables were undamaged and continued to function flawlessly,” he recalls. “We like to say that the Warrior Cable has earned the ‘Golden Hammer Award,’ when we learned that quality engineers demonstrated the Warrior Cable’s reliability by pounding it with a hammer, and still the cable performed perfectly.”
Another demonstration of the Warrior Cable’s ability to survive extreme pull, twists and bends include an unsanctioned test at an international communications equipment company. Technicians used the Warrior Cable to connect a vehicle’s receiver with an antenna, but forgot to secure the antenna to the vehicle. When the vehicle was driven away, the cable and antenna were exposed to extreme pull force and tension. Of course the equipment was damaged, but once the MegaPhase F520 was attached to a new antenna, and the receiver worked without incident. “Examples of similar rugged endurance tests are not uncommon in the field,” observes Pote. “The performance of our Warrior cables continuously earn it the reputation of a true warrior.”
These field experiences demonstrate why Warrior Cable’s mechanical and electrical performance features have proven so vital in the battlefield:
• Low Loss, Low VSWR
• 100dB Shielding Effectiveness
• High Power Handling
• Stability Under Flexure and Vibration
• 10 MHz through 67 GHz
The Warrior Cable is serialized and 100% tested prior to shipment. Tests include pull strength, stability versus flexure, VSWR and insertion loss. MegaPhase has full traceability for each cable assembly. Quality standards met include ISO-9001: 2008 international quality standard by EQA. JSTD-001 Soldering and IPC-600. MegaPhase also qualifies as MIL-45208A.
The Warrior Cable includes 4 configurations to meet the demands of various applications, most commonly from HF through X-band. Attenuation specifications are as low as 0.14dB/ft and power handling as high as 900 Watts CW at 6 GHz. Common connector types include Type N, BNC, TNC and SMA, as well as ZN and ZMA quick-connect series.