Simulation study of coupling response of aerial vehicle antennas under high-power microwave radiation

The development of drone swarms and the low-altitude economy has highlighted the strategic importance of high-power microwave (HPM) attack and defense technologies.

This study aims to analyze the time-frequency response characteristics of drone navigation antennas and data link antennas under HPM irradiation.

A three-dimensional electromagnetic coupling model was constructed based on COMSOL, and field-circuit co-simulation was employed to investigate the antennas’ responses to HPM exposure across different polarization types and frequency bands.

The results show that the navigation antenna, equivalent to a narrowband phase-shifting network, exhibits waveform distortions such as rising-edge broadening and falling-edge “truncation” under in-band and adjacent broadband pulse excitation due to strong dispersion. In contrast, the data link antenna maintains waveform integrity under various excitations owing to its flat amplitude-frequency and phase-frequency responses with weak dispersion. In the frequency domain, both antennas exhibit maximum coupled voltage at frequencies offset from the center, while the peak power occurs at the center frequency. The navigation antenna responds most strongly to right-hand circular polarization but shows enhanced left-hand coupling at frequency offsets. The data link antenna demonstrates similar responses to all polarizations, indicating polarization insensitivity.

The polarization type and frequency selectivity of antennas dominate the HPM coupling process through intrinsic dispersion mechanisms, determining energy response and waveform integrity. A multi-level protection system incorporating “front-end filtering−transient suppression−system redundancy” is recommended to enhance the electromagnetic resilience of drones. This study provides theoretical support for the countermeasures and protection of drones.