RF heat-removal project for DARPA takes BAE Systems to Phase 2
NewsAugust 12, 2026
NASHUA, N.H. BAE Systems reports that its FAST Labs research, development and production organization has successfully completed Phase 1 of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Technologies for Heat Removal in Electronics at the Device Scale (THREADS) program and has been awarded continued support to move into Phase 2.
The THREADS program is aimed at overcoming temperature limitations in high-performance radio-frequency (RF) electronics -- particularly in gallium nitride (GaN) devices -- because defeating these limitations will markedly increase the power and range of vital military systems.
Successful thermal-management techniques developed through this program will nearly triple the range of RF systems, according to the BAE Systems announcement, which will thereby increase the safety and engagement distances for military personnel.
The BAE Systems THREADS work is being conducted in its Microelectronics Center (MEC) in Nashua, New Hampshire; the company is also collaborating with teams from Modern Microsystems, Penn State University, Stanford University, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Texas at Dallas.
