What Are the IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems?

The IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems (TAES) is a peer-reviewed archival journal published by the IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society (AESS) that covers the design, development, integration, and operation of complex systems for space, air, ocean, and ground environments. Established in 1965, TAES is one of the longer-running specialized transactions journals within the IEEE portfolio, reflecting the maturity of aerospace and defense electronics as engineering disciplines. The journal publishes bimonthly and is considered a primary reference publication for researchers and engineers working on large-scale system integration problems that bridge electrical engineering, systems engineering, and applied physics.

Editorial Scope

TAES addresses technical work at the system level, focusing on how individual components and subsystems are integrated into operational platforms such as aircraft, spacecraft, naval vessels, and ground-based defense installations. Technical areas of interest include radar system design and signal processing, target detection and tracking, navigation and guidance systems, avionics, sonar, telemetry, command and control architectures, electro-optic and infrared sensing, and aerospace power conversion. The journal also covers intelligent and fault-tolerant systems, multi-sensor data fusion, sensor network management, and systems-of-systems frameworks that span multiple platforms. According to the IEEE AESS publications page, the journal's scope emphasizes original research papers that advance the scientific foundations of these systems rather than incremental design updates or product descriptions.

Technical Coverage and Research Themes

A consistent thread through TAES content is the integration challenge: how to make heterogeneous sensors, processors, and communication links function reliably together in operationally demanding environments. Radar and tracking research has been a central topic throughout the journal's history, including work on synthetic aperture radar (SAR), phased array systems, Kalman filter-based tracking algorithms, and CFAR (constant false alarm rate) detection. Navigation articles have addressed GPS-based and inertial navigation systems, terrain-aided navigation, and cooperative positioning for unmanned vehicles. Avionics content spans flight management, collision avoidance, and the integration of digital fly-by-wire control systems. The IEEE Xplore archive for TAES contains the complete journal record dating to 1965 and is the primary access point for institutional and individual subscribers. Manuscript review cycles target approximately 60 days.

History and Sponsoring Society

TAES was launched in 1965 by IEEE's Group on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, a technical community that subsequently formalized as the IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society (AESS) in January 1973. The society's evolution from a working group to a full IEEE society mirrored the growth of aerospace electronics as a distinct engineering discipline during the Cold War era, when radar, navigation, and electronic warfare drove significant investment and research activity. AESS now administers multiple journals, conferences, and award programs, with TAES serving as the society's flagship archival publication. The IEEE AESS author information page provides current submission guidelines, formatting requirements, and editorial contact information.

Applications

TAES publishes research relevant to systems engineering in:

• Airborne radar and electronic warfare system design
• Satellite navigation and GPS signal processing
• Unmanned aerial and underwater vehicle guidance and control
• Air traffic management and collision avoidance systems
• Spacecraft and satellite communications architectures
• Naval sonar and undersea surveillance systems