Investigations on AIS signal reception on aircraft at higher altitudes

During flight trials over sea and land, AIS signals were recorded by an aircraft in flight level 280 up to 330, which represents the higher altitudes between 8500m and 10000m. These stored data were post-processed and analyzed. Within this paper, the approach of data´s post-processing is described, the experienced characteristics to be handled, and challenges faced by the nature of overlapping AIS signals at the aircraft are highlighted. Finally, a comparison of detected signals at the aircraft with received AIS signals on-ground is given including the evaluation of the reception footprint of the aircraft in different altitudes. This gives insight in the detection probability by using aircraft in high altitudes for AIS signal detection.