<PAGE>   1
     As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 20, 1997

                                                      Registration No. 333-_____

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM S-8
                          REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
                                   REMEC, INC.
             (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

               California                                95-3814301      
     (State or Other Jurisdiction of                  (I.R.S. Employer
     Incorporation or Organization)                  Identification No.)
                                       
               9404 Chesapeake Drive, San Diego, California 92123
                    (Address of Principal Executive Offices)


                 Radian Technology, Inc. 1987 Stock Option Plan
                            (Full Title of the Plan)

      Ronald E. Ragland, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
                              9404 Chesapeake Drive
                           San Diego, California 92123
                     (Name and Address of Agent For Service)

                                 (619) 560-1301
          (Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

                         Copy to: Victor A. Hebert, Esq.
                         Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe
                                 333 Bush Avenue
                         San Francisco, California 94104
                                 (415) 772-6000
                         CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
================================================================================================================================
                                                             Proposed                Proposed
         Title of                                             maximum                 maximum
        securities                   Amount                  offering                aggregate                Amount of
           to be                      to be                  price per               offering               registration
        registered                 registered                share (1)                 price                     fee
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                                <C>                       <C>                   <C>                      <C>         
       Common Stock,
      par value $.01                 90,445                  $23.4375              $2,119,804.69                $643
================================================================================================================================
</TABLE>



(1)      Estimated solely for the purpose of computing the amount of
         registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(c) under the Securities Act, as
         amended, based on the last sale reported of the Registrant's Common
         Stock on the Nasdaq National Market on March 19, 1997.
<PAGE>   2
                                     PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

ITEM 3.           INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE

                  The following documents filed or to be filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") by the registrant are
incorporated by reference in this registration statement:

                  (a) The registrant's latest annual report (Form 10-K) filed
pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended (the "Exchange Act"), or the latest prospectus filed pursuant to Rule
424(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") that
contains audited financial statements for the registrants latest fiscal year for
which such statements have been filed;

                  (b) All other fiscal reports filed by the registrant pursuant
to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act since the end of the fiscal year
covered by the annual report or prospectus referred to (a) above; and

                  (c) The description of the Common Stock of the registrant
contained in the registration statement filed under the Exchange Act registering
such Common Stock under Section 12 of the Exchange Act.

                  All documents subsequently filed by the registrant pursuant to
Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to the filing of
a post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered hereby
have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold should
be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this registration statement and to
be part thereof from the date of filing of such documents.

ITEM 6.           INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS

                  The registrant has the power to indemnify its officers and
directors against liability for certain acts pursuant to Section 317 of the
California Corporations Code. Articles Fifth and Sixth of the registrants
Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation provide as follows:

                           "Fifth: The liability of directors of this
Corporation for monetary damages shall be eliminated to the fullest extent
permissible under California law.

                           "Sixth: This Corporation is authorized to provide
indemnification of agents (as defined in Section 317 of the California
Corporations Code) for breach of duty to this Corporation and its shareholders
through bylaw provisions, or through agreements with the agents, or otherwise,
in excess of the indemnification otherwise permitted by Section 317 of the
California Corporations Code, subject to the limits on such excess
indemnification set forth in Section 204 of the Code."


                                       -2-
<PAGE>   3
                  In addition, Article V of the registrants Bylaws provides that
the registrant shall indemnify its directors and executive officers to the
fullest extent not prohibited by California Corporations Code and provides for
the advancement of expenses upon a receipt of an undertaking to repay such
amounts if the person is determined ultimately not to be entitled to
indemnification.

                  The registrant has entered into Indemnification Agreements
with its officers and directors.

ITEM 8.           EXHIBITS

  5               Opinion of Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe

 23.1             Consent of Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe
                  (filed as part of Exhibit 5)

 23.2             Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors

 24               Power of Attorney (see pages 5 and 6)

 99.1             Radian Technology, Inc. 1987 Stock Option Plan

ITEM 9.           UNDERTAKINGS

         A.       The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

                  (1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are
being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement;

                           (i) To include any prospectus required by Section
         10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;

                           (ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events
         arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the
         most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in
         the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set
         forth in the registration statement;

                           (iii) To include any material information with
         respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the
         registration statement or any material change to such information in
         the registration statement;

provided, however, that paragraphs A(1)(i) and A(1)(ii) do not apply if the
information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those
paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed by the registrant pursuant to
Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in
the registration statement.

                  (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under
the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a
new


                                       -3-
<PAGE>   4
registrations statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

                  (3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective
amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the
termination of the offering.

         B. The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
determining liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the registrants
annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act that is
incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed a new
registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

         C. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons
of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the
registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such
indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is,
therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against
such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred
or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the
successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such
director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being
registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter
has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate
jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public
policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final
adjudication of such issue.




                                       -4-
<PAGE>   5
                                   SIGNATURES

                  Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that
it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this
registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto
duly authorized, in San Diego, State of California, on March 20, 1997.


                                        REMEC, INC.



                                        By:/S/ RONALD E. RAGLAND
                                           -------------------------------------
                                               Ronald E. Ragland, Chairman of
                                               the Board and Chief Executive
                                               Officer


                      POWER OF ATTORNEY TO SIGN AMENDMENTS

                  KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose
signature appears below does hereby constitute and appoint Errol Ekaireb and
Thomas A. George, or either of them, with full power of substitution, such
person's true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents for such person in such
person's name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any or all
amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement
on Form S-8 and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents
in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting
unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents full power and authority to do and
perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and
about the premises in order to effectuate the same as fully, to all intents and
purposes, as he or such person might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and
confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents may lawfully do or cause
to be done by virtue hereof.

                  Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this
Registration Statement on Form S-8 has been signed by the following persons in
the capacities and on the dates indicated.




<TABLE>
<S>                           <C>                              <C> 
/S/ RONALD E. RAGLAND         Chairman of the Board,           February 26, 1997
--------------------------    and Chief Executive
    Ronald E. Ragland         Officer and Director
                              (Principal Executive
                              Officer)
</TABLE>




                                       -5-
<PAGE>   6
<TABLE>
<S>                           <C>                              <C> 
/S/ ERROL EKAIREB             President and Chief              February 26, 1997
--------------------------    Operating Officer and
    Errol Ekaireb             Director

/S/ THOMAS A. GEORGE          Chief Financial Officer,         February 26, 1997
--------------------------    Senior Vice President,
    Thomas A. George          and Secretary (Principal
                              Financial and
                              Accounting Officer)

/S/ JACK A. GILES             Executive Vice                   February 26, 1997
--------------------------    President, President of
    Jack A. Giles             REMEC Microwave
                              Division and Director

/S/ DENNY MORGAN              Director, Senior Vice            February 26, 1997
--------------------------    President and Chief
    Denny Morgan              Engineer


/S/ JOSEPH T. LEE             Executive Vice                   February 28, 1997
--------------------------    President and Director
    Joseph T. Lee


/S/ ANDRE R. HORN             Director                         February 27, 1997
--------------------------
    Andre R. Horn


/S/ JEFFREY M. NASH           Director                         February 27, 1997
--------------------------
    Jeffrey M. Nash


                              Director                            ________, 1997
--------------------------
    Gary L. Luick


/S/ T.A. CORCORAN             Director                         February 27, 1997
--------------------------
    Thomas A. Corcoran


/S/ WILLIAM H. GIBBS          Director                         February 27, 1997
--------------------------
    William H. Gibbs
</TABLE>




                                       -6-
<PAGE>   7
                                Index to Exhibits


<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                                  Sequentially
Item No.                            Description of Item                          Numbered Page
--------                            -------------------                          -------------
<S>               <C>                                                            <C>
 5                Opinion of Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe

 23.1             Consent of Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe
                  (filed as part of Exhibit 5)

 23.2             Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors

 24               Power of Attorney (see pages 5 and 6)

 99.1             Radian Technology, Inc. 1987 Stock Option Plan
</TABLE>



                                       -7-
[{"type": "S-8", "sequence": "1", "description": "FORM S-8", "secsgml_size_bytes": 15795}]
{"company-data": {"conformed-name": "REMEC INC", "cik": "0000769874", "assigned-sic": "3674", "irs-number": "953814301", "state-of-incorporation": "CA", "fiscal-year-end": "0131"}, "filing-values": {"form-type": "S-8", "act": "33", "file-number": "333-23705", "film-number": "97560208"}, "business-address": {"street1": "9404 CHESAPEAKE DRIVE", "city": "SAN DIEGO", "state": "CA", "zip": "92123"}}
1
     As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 20, 1997

                                                      Registration No. 333-_____

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM S-8
                          REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
                                   REMEC, INC.
             (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

               California                                95-3814301      
     (State or Other Jurisdiction of                  (I.R.S. Employer
     Incorporation or Organization)                  Identification No.)
                                       
               9404 Chesapeake Drive, San Diego, California 92123
                    (Address of Principal Executive Offices)

                 Radian Technology, Inc. 1987 Stock Option Plan
                            (Full Title of the Plan)

      Ronald E. Ragland, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
                              9404 Chesapeake Drive
                           San Diego, California 92123
                     (Name and Address of Agent For Service)

                                 (619) 560-1301
          (Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

                         Copy to: Victor A. Hebert, Esq.
                         Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe
                                 333 Bush Avenue
                         San Francisco, California 94104
                                 (415) 772-6000
                         CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
================================================================================================================================
                                                             Proposed                Proposed
         Title of                                             maximum                 maximum
        securities                   Amount                  offering                aggregate                Amount of
           to be                      to be                  price per               offering               registration
        registered                 registered                share (1)                 price                     fee
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Stock,
      par value $.01                 90,445                  $23.4375              $2,119,804.69                $643
================================================================================================================================
(1)      Estimated solely for the purpose of computing the amount of
         registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(c) under the Securities Act, as
         amended, based on the last sale reported of the Registrant's Common
         Stock on the Nasdaq National Market on March 19, 1997.
2
                                     PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

ITEM 3.           INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE

                  The following documents filed or to be filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") by the registrant are
incorporated by reference in this registration statement:

                  (a) The registrant's latest annual report (Form 10-K) filed
pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended (the "Exchange Act"), or the latest prospectus filed pursuant to Rule
424(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") that
contains audited financial statements for the registrants latest fiscal year for
which such statements have been filed;

                  (b) All other fiscal reports filed by the registrant pursuant
to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act since the end of the fiscal year
covered by the annual report or prospectus referred to (a) above; and

                  (c) The description of the Common Stock of the registrant
contained in the registration statement filed under the Exchange Act registering
such Common Stock under Section 12 of the Exchange Act.

                  All documents subsequently filed by the registrant pursuant to
Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to the filing of
a post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered hereby
have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold should
be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this registration statement and to
be part thereof from the date of filing of such documents.

ITEM 6.           INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS

                  The registrant has the power to indemnify its officers and
directors against liability for certain acts pursuant to Section 317 of the
California Corporations Code. Articles Fifth and Sixth of the registrants
Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation provide as follows:

                           "Fifth: The liability of directors of this
Corporation for monetary damages shall be eliminated to the fullest extent
permissible under California law.

                           "Sixth: This Corporation is authorized to provide
indemnification of agents (as defined in Section 317 of the California
Corporations Code) for breach of duty to this Corporation and its shareholders
through bylaw provisions, or through agreements with the agents, or otherwise,
in excess of the indemnification otherwise permitted by Section 317 of the
California Corporations Code, subject to the limits on such excess
indemnification set forth in Section 204 of the Code."

                                       -2-
3
                  In addition, Article V of the registrants Bylaws provides that
the registrant shall indemnify its directors and executive officers to the
fullest extent not prohibited by California Corporations Code and provides for
the advancement of expenses upon a receipt of an undertaking to repay such
amounts if the person is determined ultimately not to be entitled to
indemnification.

                  The registrant has entered into Indemnification Agreements
with its officers and directors.

ITEM 8.           EXHIBITS

  5               Opinion of Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe

 23.1             Consent of Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe
                  (filed as part of Exhibit 5)

 23.2             Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors

 24               Power of Attorney (see pages 5 and 6)

 99.1             Radian Technology, Inc. 1987 Stock Option Plan

ITEM 9.           UNDERTAKINGS

         A.       The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

                  (1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are
being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement;

                           (i) To include any prospectus required by Section
         10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;

                           (ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events
         arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the
         most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in
         the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set
         forth in the registration statement;

                           (iii) To include any material information with
         respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the
         registration statement or any material change to such information in
         the registration statement;

provided, however, that paragraphs A(1)(i) and A(1)(ii) do not apply if the
information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those
paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed by the registrant pursuant to
Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in
the registration statement.

                  (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under
the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a
new

                                       -3-
4
registrations statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

                  (3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective
amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the
termination of the offering.

         B. The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
determining liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the registrants
annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act that is
incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed a new
registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

         C. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons
of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the
registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such
indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is,
therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against
such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred
or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the
successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such
director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being
registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter
has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate
jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public
policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final
adjudication of such issue.

                                       -4-
5
                                   SIGNATURES

                  Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that
it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this
registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto
duly authorized, in San Diego, State of California, on March 20, 1997.

                                        REMEC, INC.

                                        By:/S/ RONALD E. RAGLAND
                                           -------------------------------------
                                               Ronald E. Ragland, Chairman of
                                               the Board and Chief Executive
                                               Officer

                      POWER OF ATTORNEY TO SIGN AMENDMENTS

                  KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose
signature appears below does hereby constitute and appoint Errol Ekaireb and
Thomas A. George, or either of them, with full power of substitution, such
person's true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents for such person in such
person's name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any or all
amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement
on Form S-8 and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents
in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting
unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents full power and authority to do and
perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and
about the premises in order to effectuate the same as fully, to all intents and
purposes, as he or such person might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and
confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents may lawfully do or cause
to be done by virtue hereof.

                  Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this
Registration Statement on Form S-8 has been signed by the following persons in
the capacities and on the dates indicated.
/S/ RONALD E. RAGLAND         Chairman of the Board,           February 26, 1997
--------------------------    and Chief Executive
    Ronald E. Ragland         Officer and Director
                              (Principal Executive
                              Officer)
-5-
6
/S/ ERROL EKAIREB             President and Chief              February 26, 1997
--------------------------    Operating Officer and
    Errol Ekaireb             Director

/S/ THOMAS A. GEORGE          Chief Financial Officer,         February 26, 1997
--------------------------    Senior Vice President,
    Thomas A. George          and Secretary (Principal
                              Financial and
                              Accounting Officer)

/S/ JACK A. GILES             Executive Vice                   February 26, 1997
--------------------------    President, President of
    Jack A. Giles             REMEC Microwave
                              Division and Director

/S/ DENNY MORGAN              Director, Senior Vice            February 26, 1997
--------------------------    President and Chief
    Denny Morgan              Engineer

/S/ JOSEPH T. LEE             Executive Vice                   February 28, 1997
--------------------------    President and Director
    Joseph T. Lee

/S/ ANDRE R. HORN             Director                         February 27, 1997
--------------------------
    Andre R. Horn

/S/ JEFFREY M. NASH           Director                         February 27, 1997
--------------------------
    Jeffrey M. Nash

                              Director                            ________, 1997
--------------------------
    Gary L. Luick

/S/ T.A. CORCORAN             Director                         February 27, 1997
--------------------------
    Thomas A. Corcoran

/S/ WILLIAM H. GIBBS          Director                         February 27, 1997
--------------------------
    William H. Gibbs
-6-
7
                                Index to Exhibits
Sequentially
Item No.                            Description of Item                          Numbered Page
--------                            -------------------                          -------------
5                Opinion of Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe

 23.1             Consent of Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe
                  (filed as part of Exhibit 5)

 23.2             Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Auditors

 24               Power of Attorney (see pages 5 and 6)

 99.1             Radian Technology, Inc. 1987 Stock Option Plan
-7-