Analysis of the ILS Antenna Systems Impact in the Process of UAS Deployment into Airport Infrastructure

Unmanned aerial vehicles play an important role in everyday life. In the last ten years, they have become part of routine operations that in the past were purely human activities. Drones are entering areas where the presence of humans would not be problematic, but where drone flights could be impaired. These include electromagnetic fields, high-frequency fields and the like. Drones are increasingly being used in the area of airport security and inspection, whether for the inspection of signalling and control equipment or for perimeter surveillance. When inspecting airport premises, there is a possibility that a drone may change its flight path in the vicinity of systems that emit strong radio or electromagnetic radiation while carrying out a flight mission. Such systems can be, for example, meteorological or airborne radar or ILS systems. In this paper, the effects of radiation from ILS (Instrument Landing System) antennas on the flight of UAVs in their vicinity are investigated. The results of the research aim to recommend flight methods based on the evaluation of measurements of radio effects on UAV flights in the vicinity of ILS antennas. The use of UAVs in airport infrastructure has a huge potential and therefore it is necessary to know the limitations of the use of UAS technology, the flight zones and the possible effects of environmental factors on the safety of flight and the accuracy of the measurements performed in the case of sensor data collection. The conclusions of the paper contribute to a better understanding of UAV flight zones in airport infrastructure, and based on the results, flight paths can be better determined in the future with respect to potential interference.