VOICE COMMUNICATIONS SOLUTION FOR UAS INTEGRATION IN THE NAS

摘要

Today there are several operators of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) within the National Airspace System (NAS) that are only accommodated and not integrated. Due to the possibility of loss of communication between the UAS pilot and the air traffic controller (ATC), these UAS operations require special operating restrictions. UAS that operate beyond line-of-sight rely on satellites to relay pilot voice to ATC and when the UAS pilot loses radio connectivity with the Unmanned Aircraft (UA) they also lose voice communications with ATC, significantly impacting UAS and ATC operations. The reduced quality and timeliness of satellite-relayed voice communications also increases radio step-on and clearance read-backs. To eliminate the lost link impact along with the quality and timeless issues of satellite relay, a ground-based communication network capable of providing voice communications between UAS pilots, air traffic control, and other air traffic should be implemented. The purpose of this paper is to discuss a potential UAS voice communications solution that will allow seamless integration into the NAS. The proposed solution involves the use of all available resources, including terrestrial networks, Command Non-Payload Communications (CNPC), and ground-based radio relays. The solution leverages possibilities that arise from having the pilot located on the ground, such as direct network access to the FAA NAS Voice System (NVS). The issues and corresponding solutions discussed in this paper were identified through the development of a prototype UAS Voice Communications System utilized during Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) UAS Demos 3 and 4. True UAS integration into the NAS will require a high availability system that meets or exceeds the current manned aircraft pilot-controller voice communications capabilities. The proposed solution is a human-centered design that minimizes the impact that UAS integration into the NAS will impose on current ATC and pilot procedures.