The Role of Propagation Effects in Airborne RF Communication Systems Design

Recent years have seen the emergence of Unmanned Aerial Systems performing roles that use various Radio Frequency (RF) systems. Thus, there is a need to use accurate and broadly capable signal propagation models to capture multi-path effects as well as atmospheric effects in system requirements analysis. One such model, the Variable Terrain Electromagnetic Parabolic Equation (VTRPE) model, enables the required analysis for a wide range of applications. The work presented in this paper uses VTRPE to analyze signal propagation in multi-path environments and places the results in a system design context drawing conclusions to aid in airborne RF systems design.