Navigating the Challenges of Testing Commercial Aircraft Radomes to RTCA-DO-213A Standards

As aircraft radar antennas  advance in precision and capabilities, it has become increasingly crucial that the nose mounted radomes that protect them in flight be flawless. Radome characteristics must not interfere with the performance of aircraft radar systems in order to ensure optimal transmission for weather, wind-shear and turbulence management, inflight route planning, and overall safe navigation. Radome repair and testing procedures have traditionally been subject to regulations and standardized guidelines by the RTCA, however, technological advances,whether in antennas or test techniques, have incited progress and precision in radome performance testing.

In this whitepaper we will explore the changes in the RTCA-DO-213A standards, current testing methodologies, and how they have been affected by these updates.The latest near-field technology enabling repair facilities to meet the increasing market demands of faster test and repair outputs while meeting the more stringent requirements of test accuracy imposed by the new RTCA standards will then be introduced.