As the U.S. and its allies are taking lessons learned from the ongoing conflict in Western Europe, as well as eyeing the increasingly sophisticated technologies and capabilities of near peer rivals, it has become clear that industry must provide solutions and capabilities that are designed to meet and defeat the threats in the electromagnetic spectrum.
Today and into the future, warfighters will be pressed to enter highly contested domains across land, air, sea, space, and even cyberspace. Avoiding detection, ensuring communications and command and control, and freedom to maneuver have never been more important and more challenging for commanders and operators. The days of conducting missions in relatively permissive, uncontested environments have given way to operations in highly contested battlespace domains.
In the midst of this challenge, ARC Technologies LLC, a Hexcel Company, has developed a reputation for providing an unrivaled range of advanced materials that help military platforms operate and survive in a high-end threat environment.
From microwave and RF interference to radar absorbing and EMI control problems, the company has what it takes to develop standard off-the-shelf products or custom designs specific to unique applications, according to Noel Bolduc, Director, Research & Technology, Hexcel.
“The threats are always changing and evolving. Things that we’re worried about today are very different than things we were worried about 20 years ago, and we must be positioned to respond to that,” said Bolduc. “We work closely with several military branches, government customers, and prime OEM manufacturers to remain on the leading edge in developing products that will meet mission needs.”
Located in Amesbury, Massachusetts, approximately 40 miles north of the technology hubs of MIT and Harvard, the company was acquired by Hexcel in January 2019 and is the leading supplier of custom RF / EMI and microwave absorbing and composite materials for military, aerospace, as well as industrial applications. It provides a complete range of standard absorber products, as well as conductive materials, dielectric materials, composites, and radomes for a variety of mission applications.
“We specialize in combining polymer science with our exclusive proprietary filler and powder technologies to push the envelope of research and technology in the electromagnetic space,” added Bolduc. “Whether our customers are looking for enhanced testing capabilities, standard absorbers, thermoplastic extrusion, or electrically tuned composites, Hexcel has a proven track record unlocking design and manufacturability benefits for our customers.”
As a niche R&T and manufacturing team with approximately 200 employees on site, visitors are always amazed at the breadth of what the Hexcel team can do, according to Bolduc.
“You combine our manufacturing capabilities with a dedicated R&T staff of materials scientists, polymer chemists and RF engineers, we have the capability to develop custom-designed products that meet customer-specific, even exquisite, applications,” he said.
“Our team is always working to develop that next best polymer system and drive improvements in materials capabilities in just about any form factor, whether that’s improved performance in temperature capability or fluid and UV resistance, or changing the way materials interact with RF energy,” said Bolduc. “I’d be hard pressed to identify any other group that can rival our ability to take a concept or a technology and turn it into a game-changing RF interference material product.”
