Integrating aviation-grade connectivity for drone ops

Image courtesy Thales

The market for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) continues to go from strength to strength, with forecasts of the global market capital for these technologies standing as high as $57.8 billion by 2030. As their utility expands across applications and use cases, the ability to operate these aircraft without keeping them in visual sight will be a force multiplier. 

Advances in drone command technologies means flying in this way is technically possible but work continues to develop industry standards to make it feasible in reality. The main challenge involved in making this happen is integrating this mode of operation for unmanned aircraft into controlled airspace. It is an issue that will only grow in importance, as uncrewed air traffic density continues to rise. The future low-altitude airspace is likely to be a much busier place and we need the connectivity to match. 

Varied use cases
Safely enabling beyond visual line of sight operations at scale will be a turning point for the dramatic expansion of commercial drone operations. One significant use case is within a critical infrastructure context. Here, many industries require regular inspections to quickly capture detailed information around condition and plan maintenance. Whether it is oil and gas, power and utilities, railways and roads, or other civil engineering, drones have the potential to save huge amounts of time on site and minimise the human intervention required. The eventual ability to operate in a BVLOS fashion will take this a step further, allowing for inspections to take place over larger areas, as well as confined or hard to access spaces.

Standardised communications systems
Complex airspace can contain a wide range of different elements that must be accounted for, from satellite communications through to terrestrial networks, surveillance and airspace management systems. Add in the future demand for – potentially one day – autonomous drones, and these pressures far outstrip current available air traffic control capacity. It means the industry must find ways for aircraft to share situational awareness without using air traffic control services. A resilient, multi-link connectivity that supports continuity, assurance and safe integration is the goal, with aircraft managing flight paths and separating from each other independently. 

Crucial to safe operations is in establishing a trusted communications environment around the aircraft – one that’s standardised, scalable and shared-use. Without shared infrastructure, every drone operator must invest in airspace integration of their own, mastering navigation, safety and communications technologies just to operate. Requiring each participant in a transportation system to design and bring their own infrastructure isn’t scalable. Future success depends on shared standards and technologies that allows operators to quickly achieve operational and safety compliance. 

The future of flight
Supporting BVLOS flighting in a highly dynamic airspace environment makes it a systems challenge, spanning aerospace, telecoms, satellite communication, digital trust and airspace integration work. Maintaining situational awareness is key, as automated drone operations are only as safe and reliable as the data they run on. Datalinks are required to control the vehicles, along with mesh networking technology to allow drones to communicate with each other about their location and intention. Real-time telemetry on the likes of position, speed and health status must be broadcast and accessible. There must also be redundancy built into these communication systems so that if the primary link fails, a backup can take over and maintain control.

Aligning these various systems to create a holistic view of operations allows everyone involved, from the drone operators themselves, through to air navigation service providers and authorities, to work together from this same consistent dataset. Underpinning all of this by necessity is cybersecurity – ensuring these lines of communication and datalinks are sufficiently protected against tampering and unauthorised access. Every drone should be moving exactly as planned, staying within strict safety and control tolerances.

Routinely deploying drones on a BVLOS basis, at scale, still requires more evidence before the necessary standards are established and operations can move forward. As drones continue to move from niche tools into essential infrastructure, it will take expertise from a wide range of academic, industry and Government stakeholders working together to drive forward the next phase of uncrewed aviation.