Of Frequencies Managed and Futures Advanced

Founded in 2015 with the mission of advancing the integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System (NAS), Montana-based uAvionix—by dint of its ADS-B transponders, muLTElink 4G communication radios, and SkyLine Command and Control (C2) Network, is helping to provide common situational awareness to all aircraft—manned and unmanned.

uAvionix was recently awarded a contract by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for multiple end-to-end demonstrations of a Frequency Assignment Manager (FAM) as a component of the company’s SkyLine Command and Control Communications Service Provider (C2CSP) management platform.

The requested, large-scale demonstration will enable a Frequency Management Organization (FMO) operating the SkyLine Platform to assign available frequencies within the internationally recognized UAS C-Band Command and Non-Payload Control (CNPC) range of 5030-5091MHz to Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) equipped with CNPC radios. To meet its contractual obligations, uAvionix will leverage constituent technologies of its SkyLine C2CSP platform and SkyLink CNPC radios.

Slated to be conducted at the Northern Plains UAS Test Site (NPUASTS)—one of seven sites approved by the FAA for the testing of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)—uAvionix’s demonstration shall endeavor to demonstrate the following capabilities:

• The ability of the SkyLine C2CSP platform to manage an aggregation of allocated (and licensed) frequencies in a defined geographical area.
• The ability of the SkyLine C2CSP platform to allocate available frequencies (both allocated and not in use) to a specific CNPC radio for a specific mission.
• The ability of the SkyLink CNPC radios to receive assigned frequencies for a designated mission.
• The ability of the SkyLink CNPC radios to operate on assigned frequencies for a designated mission.
• The ability of the SkyLine C2CSP platform to monitor and perform C2CSP functionality to the SkyLink CNPC radios during a designated mission.
• The ability to demonstrate non-interference at times during which multiple aircraft using uniquely assigned frequencies are operating within close proximity to one another.

Through its contract with uAvionix, the FAA seeks to demonstrate and verify real-world operations of dynamically allocated FAA protected spectra for UAS operations. If successful, uAvionix will build upon the works of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the ICAO, the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA), the FAA, and the FCC—all of which contributed to the allocation and establishment of service rules for UAS CNPC protected frequencies, thereby hastening the actualization of Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations.

Stated succinctly, uAvionix has been contracted to develop and demonstrate means by which to manage a limited spectrum of protected frequencies within a defined area in which multiple UASs are contemporaneously operating. This admittedly ambitious feat will require specialized radios—on each drone and on the ground—to dynamically manage frequency assignments at such times as they are required, and only for the durations of each drone’s individual flights.

FMI: www.uavionix.com