The team from Farran Technology attended The IEEE International MTT Symposia (IMS) which was held in Boston this year. IMS remains one of the better barometers we have for where this market is actually heading, and this year’s edition gave plenty to think about. The event is widely regarded as the world’s premier RF/microwave technical conference and industry exhibition, drawing more than 8,000 professionals and over 500 exhibitors from across the global RF and microwave community. Beyond the usual round of technical sessions, demos, and conversations, the show floor itself offered an honest snapshot of where the broader RF, microwave, and millimetre-wave market currently stands. A few patterns stood out, and together they paint a picture of an industry that’s cautious in some areas, quietly confident in others, and still figuring out how to talk about AI. A few patterns stood out, and together they paint a picture of an industry that’s cautious in some areas, quietly confident in others, and still figuring out how to talk about AI.
A Quieter Test & Measurement Corner
One of the more telling observations didn’t come from a presentation or a product launch, but simply from walking the floor. Several of the larger, longer-established test and measurement vendors had noticeably smaller booths than in previous years. Booth size and presence at a flagship show like IMS is usually a reasonable proxy for how confident a company feels about near-term spending, and a pullback of that scale suggests the test and measurement segment is going through a softer patch right now. It’s worth watching whether this is a temporary correction tied to broader capex caution, or the start of a longer repositioning within that part of the market.
AI Is Everywhere, But Substance Is Thin
AI was a dominant theme at the show, though the depth of what’s actually being delivered varies enormously. AI references were scattered across booths and marketing materials without a clear indication of its application. It’s clear the industry knows AI needs to be part of the conversation, but most companies are still working out what that means in practice for RF and microwave products specifically, rather than having a defined strategy.
Real Demand for Differentiated Products at IMS
There was also strong customer-side interest in our own product lines, which reinforced a lot of the broader trends we were seeing elsewhere on the show floor. Our FPA continues to generate genuine engagement, with one customer relationship in particular standing out. Conversations at the show also touched on the E-Band variant of the FPA, with particular interest in the radial HPA design.
Alongside the FPA, our ruggedised FMCW solution also drew solid interest from visitors looking for radar-capable hardware that can hold up in demanding environmental conditions, a reminder that durability and field-readiness remain just as important to customers as raw RF performance.
Taken together, this kind of engagement is a useful counterbalance to some of the more cautious signals elsewhere in the market. While certain segments may be pulling back, there’s clearly still strong appetite for differentiated, well-engineered products, particularly where performance, reliability, and IP-backed design advantages come together.
The Bigger Picture
Taken together, these observations suggest a market that’s mixed rather than uniformly up or down. Growth within the traditional test and measurement market seems to be slowing down. AI adoption is real but still maturing as companies figure out where exactly it would fit within their ecosystem. What stood out most wasn’t any single product launch, but how clearly the show floor reflected the broader pressures and opportunities facing the industry right now, from budget caution in legacy test equipment to real momentum in higher-frequency technologies and emerging defence-driven demand.
Take a look at our product range to see where we fit into these trends, and follow us for more industry insights as the year unfolds.