The SANDRA testbed for the future aeronautical communication network

SESAR and NextGen are defining the future airspace system in Europe and the USA. A key element of both initiatives is to develop the next generation cockpit data communication systems, which will after a transition phase be data-centric and based on IPv6 as being specified by ICAO in the ATN/IPS SARPS [1]. Against this background, a central goal of the European research project SANDRA (Seamless Aeronautical Networking through integration of Data-links, Radios, and Antennas) [2], started in Oct. 2010 with 3 years duration, is to define and validate a reference aeronautical communication architecture, including new concepts and technologies that are assumed to be essential for the implementation of the future data communication system. Focusing on the air-to-ground communication and on the development of the aircraft SANDRA terminal, the project further designed and implemented an integrated aeronautical communication system for validation in a testbed and, further, in flight trials scheduled for June 2013 on DLR's Advanced Technology Research Aircraft (ATRA), an Airbus A320. The testbed represents a proof-of-concept prototype aircraft communication system, integrating prototypes developed and implemented in SANDRA, comprising an Integrated Modular Radio (IMR) that integrates VDL Mode 2 (VDL2), AeroMACS, Inmarsat SwiftBroadband (SBB) service on BGAN, and DVB-S2 link technologies, an Integrated Router (IR), and a transport mechanism for ATN/OSI-over-IP for mobile nodes. The focus of this paper is on the IPv6 networking and related aspects. The IR together with the respective ground network entities implements the core networking functions in compliance with ICAO ATN/IPS SARPS. Instead of relying on physical segregation, SANDRA takes a first step towards segregation of operational and non-operational domains relying on IPsec [3]. Improvement of bandwidth efficiency is also addressed through implementation of RoHC and resource sharing between operational and non-operational data traffic while ensuring segregation through IPsec and QoS requirements of data with high priority.