Frame structure of the C-band digital aeronautical communications system

Abstract

The growth of the market for unmanned aircraft (UA) is not expected to stop during the next years. The absence of a crew aboard of UAs requires both a certain level of autonomy of the vehicle and a reliable communication channel between the remote pilot and the aircraft. In our recent work, we proposed the C-Band Digital Aeronautical Communications System (CDACS) as a data link for this purpose. This paper describes the requirements to a command and control link for unmanned aircraft in terms of expected throughput among other criteria and proposes a simple cell and communication channel design based on these values. Furthermore, we provide concepts for the frame design of CDACS in both communication directions that will be evaluated during an upcoming measurement campaign.