Preliminary investigation of data communications usage for unmanned aircraft systems

This paper presents our study for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Data Communications Program Office to determine the potential use of its domestic Data Communications (Data Comm) system by Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs). As part of the future integration of UAS, especially those operating beyond line of sight (BLOS), into the National Airspace System (NAS), Data Comm is expected to have an increasing role in Air Traffic Control (ATC). The objective of this study is to determine the potential impact on the current design of the Air/Ground (A/G) Data Comm system in order to support UAS operations. We present architectural alternatives to address service provision to UAS, and examine the impact on the Data Comm system requirements such as communications latency performance and mobility management. Alternative architectures were based on scenarios for UAS with and without Very High Frequency (VHF) Digital Link-Mode 2 (VDL-2) radios. For UAS without VDL-2 radio onboard, we analyzed a Ground to Ground (G/G) architecture). For Unmanned Aircrafts (UAs) with VDL-2 radio onboard, we considered a relay architecture where Data Comm messages are relayed through the UA to the Pilot-in-Command (PIC).