Unmanned systems interoperability in military maritime operations: MAVLink to STANAG 4586 bridge

The growing interest in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) led to the boom development of these systems. Nowadays, these systems can be introduced in almost any task, either for civilian or military purposes. In fact, there are several communication protocols for these vehicles, in order to control the vehicle and to enable the exchange of information between the UAV and Ground Control Station (GCS). Interoperability among systems is a key factor in any military operation. This paper describes a system that creates a translation between two communication protocols for UAVs and GCSs: Micro Aerial Vehicle Communication Protocol (MAVLink) and STANAG 4586. MAVLink is a communication protocol used by several UAVs, whereas STANAG 4485 is a complete standard that was created in order to have NATO interoperability between these vehicles. The bridge will be connected to a Raspberry Pi computer, in order to be easily introduced in any UAV. This project will allow STANAG 4586 compliant GCSs to operate with MAVLink protocol UAVs, in order to achieve interoperability between NATO members' UAVs.