Impact of co-site interference on L/C-band spectrum for UAS control and non-payload communications

Robert J. Kerczewski, William D. Bishop, Douglas J. Hoder, Kurt A. Shalkhauser, Jeffrey D. Wilson
2015 2015 IEEE Aerospace Conference  
In order to provide for the safe integration of unmanned aircraft systems into the National Airspace System, the control and non-payload communications (CNPC) link connecting the ground-based pilot with the unmanned aircraft must be highly reliable. A specific requirement is that it must operate using aviation safety radiofrequency spectrum. The 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12) provided a potentially suitable allocation for LOS CNPC spectrum in C-Band at 5030-5091 MHz band
more » ... , when combined with a previous allocation in L-Band (960-1164 MHz) may satisfy the LOS spectrum requirement and provide for high reliability through dual-band redundancy. However, the L-Band spectrum hosts a number of aeronautical navigation systems which require high-power transmitters on-board the aircraft. These high-power transmitters co-located with sensitive CNPC receivers operating in the same frequency band have the potential to create co-site interference, reducing the performance of the CNPC receivers and ultimately reducing the usability of the L-Band for CNPC. This paper examines the potential for co-site interference, as highlighted in recent flight tests, and discusses the impact on the UAS CNPC spectrum availability and requirements for further testing and analysis.
doi:10.1109/aero.2015.7119060 fatcat:4ntf3ismbvddbm4hlsdsmlfq7e