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DAYTON, Ohio – Military aircraft are designed and built to fly under grueling, dangerous circumstances. Pilots rely on radar arrays not only to maintain situational awareness, but also for tracking and targeting capabilities. Radomes – enclosures made of fiberglass or other materials – cover and protect critical equipment, while allowing signals to pass through.

The radomes house the Airborne Weather Radar (AWR) that scans the atmosphere for turbulence, storms, and other dangerous meteorological conditions. Fighter jets use radomes built of highly specialized composite materials that allow radar waves to pass through without distortion, enabling aircraft to guide weapons, map terrain and lock onto targets.

Foreign objects, bird strikes and trapped moisture can damage these parts, leaving the enclosed systems vulnerable. Aircraft maintainers routinely check them for damage using non-invasive inspection tools such as manual X-ray equipment. Though generally effective, manual tools can introduce the possibility for human error. Damaged radomes impede aircraft readiness, hampering the DAF’s ability to generate combat power and deter aggression.

Improving inspection accuracy supports broader DAF readiness goals. Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink has stressed readiness and modernization as necessary to maintain the country’s air and space dominance.

“With the X-ray process, a source is placed on one side of the aircraft structure, and the film is placed on the other,” said Shane Groves, a robotics and automation engineer at Warner Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. “When a nondestructive inspection (NDI) technician positions the source and film, it creates two opportunities for positional error to be introduced and leads to inconsistent results.”

Positional errors during the X-ray process increase the risk of radar degradation during flight and may affect mission execution.

Developing an improved inspection process

With support from the AFWERX Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) program, Compass Technology Group is working with the Air Force to address this problem. Through the SBIR/STTR program, AFWERX provides companies with funding to advance high-risk, high-reward concepts from feasibility studies to fielded systems aligned with Department of the Air Force (DAF) operational requirements.

Compass Technology, an Alpharetta, Georgia, firm, in conjunction with the Air Force Sustainment Center at Warner Robins Air Force Base, has used SBIR funding to check aircraft radar covers (radomes) using digital twin software. This system was tested on F-15 fighter jet radomes at Robins Air Force Base and produced results comparable to current inspection methods. Preliminary testing suggests the capability can be adapted for additional aircraft. Air Force officials are evaluating its potential to reduce maintenance costs.

Compass Technology adopted an existing radome diagnostic capability for Air Force applications to create the Radome Operational Performance Evaluation (ROPE) software. The ROPE system uses an augmented reality (AR) headset with a robotic system to help inspectors accurately position the film. The AR system shows the operator where to position the film and then double-checks the location and orientation, reducing positioning variability.

In 2024, Compass Technology received a Phase III AFPIT contract totaling $10 million for radome operational performance evaluation and tuning with machine learning methods.  The contract provided for a robotic system that collects radome and radar data paired with a data processing system and extended reality tool.

The system is designed to measure radome performance metrics such as transmission efficiency, beam deflection errors, and sidelobe levels. This system uses an advanced microwave mapping probe (AMMP) for data and computational methods in place of a traditional indoor or outdoor radome measurement range.

In 2025, Compass Technology received a $2 million Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) to advance underlying computational capabilities through the refactoring of RayCalc simulations into a high-performance, GPU-accelerated Rust library, supporting additional digital twin capabilities and performance metric calculations.

The project also expands sensor integration and data collection capabilities by designing and manufacturing new end-of-arm tooling for cobot-mounted sensors and integrating them into the ARDS platform.

The effort updates the original ROPE software to utilize these new Rust-based libraries, extending the methodology for additional Air Force applications.

The future

Phase III work will include the adapting the technology for radomes used in the F-15 Radar Modernization Program, along with applications for C-130, F-16, and KC-135 aircraft.

As developments continue, Air Force officials plan to expand testing and fielding at additional maintenance locations. In addition to its use at the Robins Air Logistics Complex, plans call for its use at depots at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Hurlburt Field, Florida, and a Navy installation in San Diego.

*Disclaimer: References to non-federal entities do not constitute or imply Department of War or Air Force endorsement of any company or organization.