Wideband channel model for aeronautical telemetry

A multipath channel model for wideband aeronautical telemetry links is presented. Channel sounding data were collected at Edwards AFB, CA, at both L-band and lower S-band. Frequency domain analysis techniques were used to evaluate candidate channel models. The channel model is composed of three propagation paths: a line-of-sight direct path and two specular reflections. The first specular reflection is characterized by a relative amplitude of 70% to 96% of the line-of-sight amplitude and a delay of 10-80 ns. This path is the result of "ground bounces" off the dry lake bed at Edwards and is a typical terrain feature at DoD test ranges located in the western United States. The amplitude and delay of this path are defined completely by the flight path geometry. The second path has much lower amplitude and a longer delay. The gain of this path is well modeled as a zero-mean complex Gaussian random variable. The relative amplitude is approximately 2% to 8% of the line-of-sight amplitude. The mean excess delay is 155 ns with an rms delay spread of 74 ns.