Antenna Design for Accurate Tracking of Military Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

In this paper, we propose an antenna design solution for accurate tracking of military unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in an automatic take-off and landing system (ATOLS). To substantiate the proposed antennas, far-field radiation characteristics of a slotted blade was compared with a quarter-wave monopole via electromagnetic simulation. In addition, a full-scale UAV simulation model was developed to investigate the antenna-fuselage interaction. The practicability of proposed antenna has been verified through the flight trials of UAVs. Experimental results indicate that the proposed antenna solution can be employed for UAV guidance and navigation applications.