Chapter 13

Communications System Design

Satellite
connection Satellite
connection

U
AV

Radar station
Global
network Radar station
Internet

GCS
Figure 13.1. Data link network diagram

1
 UAV
Camera

Sensors Microcontroller Transmitter Antenna

to ground
Flight data station

a. Data transmission from a UAV to a ground station

Ground Control Station

Pilot Stick A/D Converter Transmitter Antenna to UAV

b. Command transmission from a ground station to a UAV

Figure 13.2. Transmitter in two locations

UAV Sensors
Signal from
Antenna Receiver Microcontroller Control surfaces
ground
station
Camera

Engine

a. Data transmission from a ground station to a UAV

Ground Control Station

Signal from Antenna Receiver Processor Display
UAV

b. Command transmission from a UAV to a ground station

Figure 13.3. Receiver in two locations

2
 Parabolic (Dish) Reflective array

Monopole Yagi-Uda

Figure 13.4. Antenna types

N Band Frequency
o
1 HF 3-30 MHz
2 VHF 30-300 MHz
3 UHF 300-1000 MHz
4 L 1-2 GHz
5 S 2-4 GHz
6 C 4-8 GHz
7 X 8-12 GHz
8 Ku 12-18 GHz
9 K 18-26.5 GHz
10 Ka 26.5-40 GHz
Table 13.1. Commonly used frequency bands in communications

UAV operation

RF line of sight RF beyond line of sight

Command and Control Air Traffic Control

Autonomy Remote control Link loss procedure

Data link Bandwidth Data link Frequency usage

Figure 13.5. Command, Control, and Communications (C3) model

3
No Category Application Frequency
1 Communications links Ku Satcom Uplink 14 GHz
2 Ku Satcom Downlink 11.7 GHz
3 UHF Satcom 200-400 MHz
4 Flight test telemetry 2387 MHz
5 NAVAIDS Radar Altimeter 4300 MHz
6 IFF 1030 MHz
7 IFF 1090 MHz
8 GPS L1 1575 MHz
9 GPS L2 1227 MHz
10 Differential GPS 113 MHz
11 Payloads EO/IR Sensors 8 -10 GHz
Table 13.2. Typical radio frequencies for a large UAV

Figure 13.6. NASA Altair satellite communications antenna

4
 Inmarsat antenna
Ku satellite

C-band line of sight

2 ARC-210 radio
antennas

Figure 13.7. Antennas NASA's Ikhana Predator B

No Component Weight (lb) Power (W) Remarks

1 Ku-band Satcom antenna 46 35 Gimbaled 8 in dish, Ku band
2 UHF antenna 8 - -
3 LNA/Diplexer 3 7 Low noise amplifier
4 UHF PA 14 700 Power amplifier
5 UHF RX/TX 13 150 Transmitter/receiver
6 HPA 56 33 High power amplifier
7 CAMA 85 310 Modem assembly
Table 13.3. Weight and electric power of a few components of Global Hawk communications system

5
 Identify and prioritize communications system design requirements

Overall design, configuration selection, and system level decisions

Select frequencies for: 1. Payload data, 2. Control signals, 3. Navigation, ...

For GCS For UAV

Design transmitter Design transmitter

Design receiver Design receiver

Design antenna Design antenna

Design wiring, power supply Design wiring, power supply

Telemetry design Fairing and radome design

Integration with GCS Installation and Integration with UAV

Plan for encryption and cybersecurity

No No
Design requirements met?

Yes

Optimization

Figure 13.8. Communications system design process