Above and top courtesy ARL Public Affairs

A New Facility for High-Power Microwave Susceptibility Tests

Since its completion in October 2007, the EMVAF has been used to conduct experiments that address the electromagnetic vulnerability requirements of the US Army Weapon and Communication-Electronics Systems. (Click here and here for news stories and photos about EMVAF's opening.)

"[The] Electromagnetic Vulnerability Assessment Facility (EMVAF) [is] used to sustain the Army Research Lab’s ongoing mission to evaluate Army weapon systems’ survivability against the full spectrum of electromagnetic energy threats on the battlefield and in operations other than war (OOTW). This includes the means to determine weapon systems’ survivability against radio-frequency directed energy weapons." -- US Army White Sands Missile Range website

The EMVAF facility includes a 100 ft x 70 ft x 40 ft (30m x 21m x 12m) shielded anechoic chamber with a turntable capable of supporting 100-ton test vehicles, along with a smaller 20 ft x 30 ft x 20 ft (6m x 9m x 6m) shielded anechoic chamber.

The Howland Company designed the shielded anechoic chambers and control rooms as well as the 100-ton capacity turntable, and developed the procurement specifications for the shielding and anechoic construction. During the construction phase, we advised the general contractor and the Army on issues of construction sequencing; we were also tasked with oversight of the QA program for all shielding and anechoic construction and testing.

The Howland Company also conducted an extensive series of commissioning measurements to characterize the two anechoic chambers. These measurements were made using a Spherical Near-Field Imaging technique. (A paper describing the technique and its application is available here.) The Spherical Near-Field Imaging technique affords anechoic chamber designers and users an unprecedented capacity to measure electromagnetic field purity within a specified Quiet Zone volume, and also to identify and mitigate extraneous signals entering the Quiet Zone.

On the web:

• "Army, NASA, Prepare New Facilities At White Sands Missile Range,"
  Defense Daily, 30NOV2007.
• White Sands Missile Range facility description

EMVAF is managed and operated by the Modeling
& Simulation Support Branch, Information and Electronic Protection Division, of the Survivability/ Lethality Analysis Directorate of ARL (AMSRD-ARL-SL-ES). Click the image at right for a PDF data sheet with contact information and a summary of the facility's capabilities. For more information, visit these sites:

ARL Survivability/Lethality Analysis Directorate

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