Experiences with coastal and maritime UAS BLOS operation with phased-array antenna digital payload data link

This paper describes recent experiences with operating an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in a coastal and maritime environment beyond line of sight (BLOS) in controlled airspace (class D) where separation from other air traffic is provided by the Air Traffic Control (ATC). The UAV operation followed normal ATC procedures with two-way VHF communication between the UAS Operator and ATC in order to provide separation vertically and horizontally by operation within pre-defined areas according to specific operational procedures made by ATC. Tests were conducted using direct 2.4 GHz radio and GPRS mobile network control links at a distance up to 20 km from the ground control station when operating at 1500 ft altitude. A new low-weight and small size experimental phased-array antenna providing a digital high capacity payload data link was tested and found to give stable real-time HD video at a distance of 50 km under line of sight conditions at 2500 ft altitude.