Microwave Components & Systems

What Microwave Components & Systems does

Microwave Components and Systems, Inc. (MCS), founded in 1994 and headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts, designs, develops, and manufactures waveguide and coaxial components and systems for commercial and military communications, radar, and satellite earth station applications. The company operates across a 10 MHz to 50 GHz frequency range, offering an extensive product catalog that includes waveguide straights, bends, twists, pressure windows, pressure inlets, transitions, couplers, hybrids, terminations, magic tees, flexguides, attenuators, ridged waveguide assemblies, frequency and power combiners, waveguide multiplexers, and filters — including specialized K, KA-Band, and Q-Band components. MCS also delivers turnkey high-power diplexing and combining systems for satellite earth stations with worldwide onsite installation, integration, and testing services. Core technology rests on state-of-the-art 3D electromagnetic modeling and mechanical design software, supported by full in-house manufacturing capabilities including an HP 8510 Vector Network Analyzer electrical testing lab, HAAS CNC machining, AWS C3.7 and AWS C3.4 certified brazing, painting, inspection, and mechanical assembly.

MCS generates revenue through hardware sales of both standard catalog components and custom-engineered assemblies built to customer specifications, supplemented by professional services for domestic and international field installation, testing, and turnkey system integration. The company holds ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100 quality certifications and is ITAR registered, enabling participation in U.S. defense and aerospace programs. Its go-to-market is direct enterprise field sales targeting commercial communication, military/defense, and satellite earth station customers globally, with quotes issued upon request rather than published pricing. No distribution partners, resellers, or e-commerce channels are evident in the source materials. The management team is described as possessing over 70 years of combined experience in microwave product design and manufacturing, which the company positions as a core differentiator in custom engineering engagements.

Name

Microwave Components & Systems

Legal name

Microwave Components and Systems, Inc.

Website

https://mcsproducts.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Microwave Components and Systems designs and manufactures waveguide and coaxial components (10 MHz to 50 GHz) for commercial communications, military/defense, and satellite earth station customers, with full in-house engineering and ITAR/AS9100-certified production in Westborough, MA.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Microwave and RF Waveguide Components

NAICS

Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing (33441)

SIC

Electronic Components, Nec (3679)

akta.pro primary industry

RF & Microwave Connectors and Coaxial Assemblies (HDAHAOAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Military Power Supplies, RF/Microwave Components & Ruggedized Electronics (IMABAGAJ)

Keywords

• Waveguide components
• Coaxial components
• Microwave components
• Satellite earth stations
• Military radar systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Westborough

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Standard Waveguide Components: Sale of standard waveguide components including straights, bends, twists, pressure windows, transitions, couplers, hybrids, terminations, magic tees, flexguides, and attenuators. Components are sold as finished products with standard specifications.
2. Custom Design Components and Systems: Custom design and manufacturing of waveguide and coaxial components and systems to customer specifications. Includes engineering services, computer-aided design, and custom assemblies for specific applications.
3. High Power Combining Systems: Complete state-of-the-art turnkey combining systems for satellite earth stations. Includes system design, integration, installation, onsite testing, and training. Typically computer designed, fabricated and tested onsite anywhere in the world.
4. Installation and Field Services: Domestic and international field installation and testing services provided upon request.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Microwave Components and Systems, Inc. designs, develops, and manufactures an extensive line of waveguide and coaxial components and systems operating from 10 MHz to 50 GHz, serving commercial communications, satellite earth stations, military communications, and radar markets. The company offers both standard catalog components (straights, bends, twists, pressure windows, pressure inlets, transitions, couplers, hybrids, terminations, magic tees, flexguides, attenuators) and custom-engineered systems including ridgeguides, frequency combiners, multiplexers, power combiners, filters, and K/KA-Band and Q-Band devices, with full in-house manufacturing, brazing, painting, inspection, and installation capabilities.

Product overview

Microwave Components and Systems Inc. (MCS) is a specialized manufacturer of waveguide and coaxial components and systems, established in 1994, serving commercial, military communication, and radar markets. The company offers an extensive portfolio of standard and custom-designed microwave components including: Waveguide components (straight sections, mitered and formed bends, twists, pressure windows, pressure inlets, transitions, couplers, hybrids, terminations, magic tees, flexguides, and attenuators); Ridgeguides (straight assemblies, formed bends, twist assemblies, and magic tees); Frequency combiners and waveguide multiplexers for satellite earth stations; Variable power combiners with fast switching capability; Filters (bandpass, bandreject, highpass, lowpass, absorptive types); and specialized K, KA-Band and Q-Band components. MCS serves both commercial and military markets with products ranging from 10 MHz to 50 GHz. The company operates an ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100 certified facility in Westborough, MA with in-house capabilities including electrical testing, machine shop, painting, brazing, inspection, and custom engineering design services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Waveguide Components (Straights, Bends, Twists) Standard copper or aluminum alloy waveguide straight sections, precision tuned cast mitered bends, formed bends, and twist assemblies with custom lengths to customer specifications, for high-frequency signal routing in commercial and military systems.
• Pressure Windows Standard copper alloy pressure windows including square flange and CPR flange configurations, with VSWR 1.10:1 max, temperature range -40 to 60 degrees C, RoHS compliant, for sealed waveguide runs.
• Pressure Inlets/Outlets Brass or aluminum alloy 1/8" - 27NPT pressure inlet/outlet and custom pressurized inlet/outlet waveguide assemblies with VSWR 1.05:1 max, insertion loss 0.05 dB max.
• Transitions (Waveguide-to-Waveguide and Waveguide-to-Coaxial) Standard aluminum alloy waveguide-to-waveguide transitions, waveguide-to-coaxial transitions (VSWR 1.25:1 max, with 1.10:1 max available in any 10% BW), and waveguide-to-coaxial end launch adapters, available in pressurized and unpressurized versions.
• Couplers (Loop, Crossguide, Dual Crossguide, Broadwall) Loop couplers (1.70-50.00 GHz, coupling 35/40/50/60 dB), crossguide couplers and dual crossguide couplers (coupling 30/40/50 dB, directivity 25 dB min), and broadwall couplers with coax port (coupling 10/20/30/40 dB, directivity 40 dB min) for signal sampling in microwave systems.
• Hybrid Power Combiner/Divider Hybrid power combiner/divider operating 1.70-40.00 GHz, copper or brass, VSWR 1.15:1 max, insertion loss 0.10 dB max, isolation 30 dB min, pressurized to 15 PSIG max, for power combining and signal division applications.
• Terminations (Precision Low VSWR, Low, Medium, and High Power) Copper or aluminum alloy waveguide terminations in four power tiers — precision low VSWR (2-37 watts), low power (5-25 watts), medium power (20-1200 watts), and high power (250-5000 watts) — for matched-load signal absorption.
• Magic Tees Waveguide magic tee with 3.0 dB +/- 0.15 dB max coupling, isolation A-B 35 dB min, C-D 25 dB min, insertion loss 0.10 dB, return loss 23 dB min, for signal splitting and combining.
• Custom Flexguides Seamless corrugated brass custom design flexguides with copper or aluminum alloy flange material and high temperature flat black finish, for flexible waveguide runs.
• Ultra High Power Waveguide Attenuators Waveguide attenuators with peak power levels in the megawatts and average power levels in the kilowatts, 1 dB step values, RS232 controlled, for ultra-high-power attenuation in radar and high-power systems.
• Ridgeguides (Straight, Bend, Twist, Magic Tee) Ridged waveguide straight assemblies (2.60-40.00 GHz), formed bends, twist assemblies for polarization changes, and magic tees with numerous flange configurations, for broadband microwave applications.
• High Power Combining Systems and Waveguide Multiplexers Complete turnkey high power diplexing/combining systems for satellite earth stations, including technical support, feasibility studies, computer designed layouts, installation, and training, with features including backup HPA switching and system reconfiguration provisions.
• Variable Power Combiners High power handling combiners with excellent combining efficiency, switchable under full RF power, operates as hot standby switch with less than 100ms switch time, functioning as power combiner/divider and adjustable attenuator/coupler.
• Filters (Bandpass, Bandreject, Highpass, Lowpass, Absorptive) Complete line of standard and custom filters including bandpass, bandreject, highpass, lowpass, absorptive, terrestrial interference, transmit reject, and receive reject types for microwave to millimeter wave applications.
• K, KA-Band and Q-Band Components Complete line of K, KA-Band, and Q-Band filters, combiners, couplers, phase shifters, and other waveguide devices and systems for higher-frequency microwave and millimeter wave applications.
• Installation, Field Testing, and Training Services Domestic and international field installation, onsite testing, and training services for combining systems and waveguide products, provided upon request including computer-designed layouts and turnkey delivery anywhere in the world.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Werlatone: Werlatone manufactures high-power RF combiners, dividers, and directional couplers covering frequencies similar to MCS's product lines, with overlapping defense and broadcast customer bases.
• Microtech Inc. Microtech provides custom waveguide and microwave components with in-house machining and brazing capabilities, closely matching MCS's specialty manufacturing model.
• QuinStar Technology: QuinStar designs and manufactures microwave and millimeter-wave components and subsystems, including waveguide assemblies, with frequencies overlapping MCS's 1–50 GHz range; both firms serve defense, satellite, and commercial RF customers with custom engineering.
• Maury Microwave: Maury Microwave produces RF/microwave test and measurement components, including waveguide adapters, couplers, and calibration components serving aerospace and defense; comparable microwave-component specialist.
• Rantec Microwave Systems: Rantec designs and manufactures microwave components, subassemblies, and integrated RF systems for defense and aerospace — directly comparable product portfolio and customer profile to MCS.
• Mega Industries: Mega Industries specializes in high-power RF/microwave components, waveguide systems, and coaxial loads — directly comparable to MCS's high-power attenuators, terminations, and combiners used in radar and broadcast applications.

Broad incumbents

• Pasternack: Pasternack offers an extensive catalog of catalog-grade RF/microwave waveguide components and adapters — broader incumbent competing on standard parts where MCS also offers standard catalog items.
• Communications & Power Industries (CPI): CPI is a large, established manufacturer of RF/microwave and power solutions including waveguide components, satellite subsystems, and high-power amplifiers — overlapping products but operating at far greater scale and system level.
• Mercury Systems: Mercury Systems is a major defense electronics integrator providing RF and microwave subsystems across radar, EW, and C5ISR — a broader incumbent competing indirectly with MCS for defense RF component share.
• Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions: Cobham AES is a tier-one defense electronics supplier offering RF, microwave, and waveguide products across a much broader portfolio; competes with MCS for defense RF component business at scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Microwave Components & Systems