The programme: BAE Systems completed Phase 1 of DARPA's THREADS programme, targeting heat limits in gallium nitride semiconductors used in radar and electronic warfare transmitters, and has been funded to continue into Phase 2, working from its Nashua, New Hampshire microelectronics facility.
The claim: BAE says successful thermal management could nearly triple RF system range, since heat currently caps transmitter output and radar detection range scales steeply with power; extracting heat closer to the source would let devices run at higher output without degrading.
The relevance: Gallium nitride already underpins UK systems like the Sampson radar on Type 45 destroyers and the ECRS Mk2 on Typhoons, plus US Patriot and Aegis radars, making thermal breakthroughs directly applicable to fielded and future allied radar and EW systems.
