# Advanced Enclosed Mast/Sensor

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{{Short description|US Navy ship mast and radome}}
[[Image:US Navy 021127-N-3653A-004 Spruance-class Arthur W. Radford steams through the Mediterranean Sea.jpg|thumb|right|[USS ''Arthur W. Radford''](/source/USS_Arthur_W._Radford) with the aft mast replaced by the proof-of-concept AEM/S.]]
[[File:US Navy 070305-N-7427G-001 Pre-Commissioning Unit New Orleans (LPD 18) leaves Avondale Shipyard and transits up the Mississippi River toward her commissioning site in New Orleans.jpg|thumb|right|[USS ''New Orleans''](/source/USS_New_Orleans) with fore and aft AEM/S.]]

The [US Navy](/source/US_Navy)'s '''Advanced Enclosed Mast/Sensor (AEM/S) system''' fully integrates advanced materials, structures, and manufacturing technologies with sensor technology, electromagnetics, and signature reduction.

Ship masts, with the complex antenna geometries mounted on them, as well as the [latticework](/source/latticework) of the mast structure, contribute significantly to a ship's [radar cross section](/source/radar_cross_section). The AEM/S consists of a faceted [radome](/source/radome) that provides a cleaner exterior profile, with internal platforms on which antennas and sensors are mounted.<ref name="Doerry2010">{{Cite report |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/ADA525441 |title=View the full text of this report |last=Doerry |first=Norbert |date=2010-06-18 |access-date=2023-10-02}}</ref>{{rp|25–26}} The radome material is designed so that the antennas can transmit and receive through the material.<ref name="Doerry2010"/>{{rp|25}} The base of the mast is constructed from [fiber reinforced composite](/source/Fiber_reinforced_plastic) skins encasing end-grain [balsa](/source/balsa) core.<ref name="Doerry2010"/>{{rp|26}} The upper (radome) section consists of structural foam and [fiberglass](/source/fiberglass).<ref name="Doerry2010"/>{{rp|26}}

In May 1997, [USS ''Arthur W. Radford''](/source/USS_Arthur_W._Radford_(DD-968)) received the first-ever shipboard installation of the AEM/S System, to serve as a proof-of-concept or advanced technology demonstrator.<ref name="Doerry2010"/>{{rp|29}} Sailors reported an unanticipated benefit of being able to work aloft in bad weather, increasing the efficiency of scheduled shipboard maintenance.

Using lessons learned from the ''Radford'', the Navy designed the AEM/S into a new class of ships, the first being the [USS ''San Antonio'' (LPD-17)](/source/USS_San_Antonio_(LPD-17)) [amphibious transport dock](/source/amphibious_transport_dock).<ref name="Doerry2010"/>{{rp|30–31}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.fas.org Federation of American Scientists] information page on the [http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/aems.htm Advanced Enclosed Mast/Sensor]

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Category:Equipment of the United States Navy

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Advanced Enclosed Mast/Sensor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Enclosed_Mast%2FSensor) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Enclosed_Mast%2FSensor?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.