The ANTENNAE project aims to adapt 3GPP telecommunications standards to communications, navigation, and surveillance (CNS) services to support safe and efficient low-altitude aircraft operations.
The ANTENNAE project investigates the applicability of 3GPP telecommunications standards to provide a full range of communications, navigation, and surveillance services to all classes of aircraft operating at low altitudes while supporting key air traffic management (ATM) and U-space stakeholders. ANTENNAE solutions explore the use of 5G and next-generation (6G and beyond) cellular networks through a hybrid connectivity framework that integrates terrestrial (TN) and non-terrestrial (NTN) systems. The integrated CNS concept leverages efficient spectrum utilization to provide increased service resiliency, increased connectivity capacity, and service continuity required for cost-effective and safe air operations at low altitudes.
From takeoff to landing: the important role of the CNS in aviation
Communications, navigation, and surveillance are the cardiovascular systems of airspace management, enabling safe air operations in crowded airspace where thousands of aircraft fly. CNS was originally designed for traditional high-altitude aircraft, with three domains: “C,” “N,” and “S” fragmented and poorly integrated. These three domains complement each other and support safe air operations by providing air navigation services. In today’s CNS ecosystem, each domain operates independently using distinct technologies, hardware, and frequency bands.
Communications play a critical role in facilitating the exchange of data between aircraft, between aircraft and the ground, and between ground and ground. For example, Controller Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) and Aircraft Communication Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) are widely adopted aviation communication protocols that have been used in manned aircraft for decades. Navigation is essential for planning flights and ensuring that aircraft fly safely from one location to another within the correct airways in managed airspace according to international standards. Navigation services are a key enabler of geofencing solutions that prevent aircraft from entering restricted areas. Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is the most widely used system for aircraft navigation. Beacon-based navigation solutions such as distance measuring equipment (DME), very high frequency omnidirectional range (VOR), instrument landing system (ILS), and non-directional beacon (NDB) are also well-known technologies that support the navigation of manned aircraft during various flight phases. Surveillance provides situational awareness by detecting, tracking, and identifying aircraft. Ensures that only authorized aircraft are within the designated area. Traditional surveillance systems in manned aviation include Airborne Collision Avoidance System (ACAS), Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), Primary Surveillance Radar (PSR), and Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR).
All three domains, ‘C’, ‘N’ and ‘S’, are equally important and essential at every stage of flight, making them highly integrated into aircraft systems and the backbone of aviation.
Limitations of traditional CNS in a changing airspace
Emerging U-Space operations based on innovative and advanced air mobility concepts are creating new challenges in the airspace by allowing a new generation of smaller, more maneuverable and highly automated aircraft to operate at lower altitudes alongside traditional aviation users. Traditional CNS systems and their primary technologies are designed for high-altitude aircraft and have limited coverage at low altitudes. At lower altitudes, next-generation aircraft such as unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capable aircraft (VCAs) fly for aerial operations, logistics, personnel transport, and public services. Traditional CNS technologies face challenges in meeting the requirements of next generation aircraft and U space operations. The main challenges are:
Current CNS systems, originally designed for high-altitude aircraft and ATMs, provide limited coverage at very low altitudes and metropolitan areas in U-space operations. Each service “C,” “N,” and “S” uses separate or multiple devices, technology, and frequency spectrum, resulting in higher development and operating costs. For reasons of safety and operational complexity, it is difficult for small unmanned aircraft to carry multiple radios and batteries to power and use fragmented CNS systems.
For UAS and VCA operations to share airspace with traditional aviation, new CNS infrastructure is required for coordination and collision avoidance to ensure airspace safety.
Rethinking the CNS: From fragmentation to integration
The increasing number of UAS and VCA users at low altitudes demands innovative, sustainable, and cost-effective CNS solutions. The Integrated CNS (ICNS) concept provides ‘C’, ‘N’, and ‘S’ services through the same technology stack. This means that ICNS eliminates the need for multiple onboard hardware devices, reducing the number of network devices required and the aircraft’s battery capacity. ICNS considers the C, N, and S domains to be a harmonized framework. This new concept allows one domain to support and complement another. Considering this, all systems of C, N, and S services could potentially be combined and harmonized into a single system. ICNS also helps minimize the carbon footprint of wireless systems.
Bridging today and tomorrow: ANTENNAE’s path to an integrated CNS
The ANTENNAE project investigates the applicability of 3GPP telecommunications standards to provide ICNS services at low altitudes and support both pilot and U-space operations. To achieve this goal, the ANTENNAE project is considering integrated ground and non-ground networks that provide continuous coverage and a full range of CNS services to aircraft operating at low altitudes while supporting key aviation stakeholders.
The role of the terrestrial network is to provide primary connectivity to areas with established infrastructure. Satellite networks support CNS operations in areas beyond the coverage of terrestrial networks, such as oceans and rural areas. Commercial cellular networks are optimized for terrestrial users, with downward-facing antennas serving roads and buildings, and cannot adequately support aerial users. Satellite systems can provide coverage at altitudes beyond the range of terrestrial networks. Additionally, satellites help offload CNS traffic from terrestrial networks, reducing congestion during peak hours and in areas with high air traffic density. In the event of a failure, these networks can act as fallbacks for each other, increasing resiliency and improving connectivity availability and service continuity required for autonomous beyond-line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations.
By leveraging the benefits of 3GPP terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks, ANTENNAE will deploy an ICNS framework that supports both high-altitude and low-altitude operations, optimizes airspace capacity, reduces fuel and battery consumption, and reduces carbon emissions. Therefore, the antenna enhances safety and sustainability, and improves capacity, performance, and latency compared to traditional CNS systems, meeting current and future needs of ATM and U-space systems.
Disclaimer
This project is funded by SESAR 3 JU and the European Commission and operated under grant agreement 101167288.
Please note: This is a commercial profile
This article will also be published in the quarterly magazine issue 25.
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