This month Rock West Composites completed the delivery of nine (9) Ka-band and KaKu-band radomes, which will be used in military search and rescue operations on C130's and similar platforms. The contract with R4 Integration, Inc. was an extension of a previous program for a single proof-of-concept radome for this aerospace application.
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 3, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Rock West Composites (RWC) announces the delivery of nine Ka-band and KaKu-band radomes to R4 Integration, Inc. The final delivery this month completes the contract that continues work on a previous aerospace program facilitating military search and rescue operations. The sandwich panel radomes meet multiple demanding requirements including very low view angles, a large band of frequencies, truncated schedule, and no tooling. The program is anticipated to have follow-on adjacent panel designs in 2026.
The contract called for radomes made of a fiberglass and foam core sandwich configuration, following the design of the original proof-of-concept. The Ka-band radomes are made of Quartz Btcy1-A/4581 and Diab foam. The KaKu-band radomes are made of Toray 2510 and Diab Foam with a foam tuning layer. The exterior shapes are the same and require very low view angles of 20° relative to the horizon within several frequency ranges: 10.7-14.5 GHz, 17.7-21.2 GHz, and 27.5-31 GHz. RWC met an abbreviated schedule and used no tooling by creating a highly optimized flat panel design. The company performed in-house RF testing to verify performance to requirements.
Adam Saunders, Program Manager, said, "We are proud to support this critical program for our military and R4. This opportunity has enabled Rock West to demonstrate a key capability, successfully producing radomes for aerospace applications without the need for tooling, bringing better value and improved schedules to our customers and end users."
About Rock West Composites
Rock West Composites, Inc. is an employee-owned, advanced composites company. RWC develops, engineers, manufactures, and tests composite products for multiple industries including Aerospace & Defense (radomes, munitions, unmanned systems, reflectors), Space (bus structures; solar array panels and wings; launch vehicle structures; optical, payload and deployable structures), Aircraft (new and replacement parts) and Commercial Equipment (automation, medical, energy, and sporting). The company is also one of the largest ecommerce suppliers of off-the-shelf carbon fiber tubes, plates, materials, and accessories.
The company's mission is to make customers more competitive with the magic of advanced composites by delivering highly differentiated products on time and on budget, all while making the buying process easy. Rock West Composites has locations in San Diego, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Baja California, Mexico.
Media Contact
Julia Willis, Rock West Composites, Inc., 1 8585376260 109, [email protected], www.rockwestcomposites.com
SOURCE Rock West Composites, Inc.
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