About Sheergard

SHEERGARD, Protecting Under Pressure

Our Story

SHEERGARD® composite solutions have been utilized to produce world class radome structures since the 1950’s.

Born out of the Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory (1948-1956) and the work of Walter Bird, these unique materials and systems have proven to provide exceptional performance in a wide range of environments and applications.

Initially used in novel air-supported radomes, SHEERGARD applications have grown to include large and small radomes, electromagnetic windows and custom solutions through engineering and an ever-widening array of material choices.

The first air-supported fabric radomes were offered commercially by Walter Bird’s company, Birdair, of Buffalo, NY. CHEMFAB acquired the structural fabrics business from Birdair in 1979. The radome fabrication portion of the business was moved to Merrimack, NH in 1993, and production has continued at the same location under the ownership of Saint-Gobain, which had acquired CHEMFAB in 2000. In late 2023, Saint-Gobain announced the dissolution of its Composite Solutions business unit, which includes the SHEERGARD radome business. SHEERGARD Composite Solutions Inc. was founded after its parent company acquired certain technical assets related to the SHEERGARD radome business from Saint-Gobain.

Today, ground-based systems make use of structural fabrics, sandwich composites, or hydrophobic laminates. They can be typically found in large, fixed radomes used in Radar or Satcom applications, as well as smaller systems used within next-gen Telecom and LEO Satcom applications. Systems can be provided fully integrated as a turn-key solution, or as standalone system compatible with further integration into a larger platform.

 

 This industry-leading portfolio of materials and systems is backed up with a fully integrated design and installation team. Bringing decades of experience in the design, manufacture and installation of radomes of all types, much of this highly experienced team has transitioned directly from Saint-Gobain radome business to SHEERGARD Composite Solutions.

SHEERGARD Composite Solutions stands ready to deliver exceptional solutions for the most demanding applications, continuing the innovative spirit of Walter Bird and the team at Cornell from 75+ years ago.

The first modern air-supported structure was developed at Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory (CAL) in the late 1940s. It was specifically designed to meet the need for a thin-wall, nonmetallic enclosure to protect large radar systems from high winds and severe weather. SHEERGARD’s current engineering talent, rooted in that original CAL group, reflects the most recent developments in this highly specialized field.

The 210 ft. diameter x 161 ft. high radome was installed in 1962, housing the Telestar antenna used for the first trans-Atlantic TV transmission via satellite.  The operating radome and antenna are presently a telecommunications museum and have been recognized by the IEEE as a historical engineering milestone. 

 

SHEERGARD is a registered trademark of SHEERGARD Composite Solutions.

DuPont® and KEVLAR® are registered trademarks of DuPont de Nemours, Inc