Tethered Antenna UAV For Improved Communication

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Radio networks are a trusted technology, but it could become even better with the aid of tethered high antenna unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), UAS Vision reports. The technology could dramatically improve network and communication performance for the armed forces and public safety officers.

Tethered UAV-based antennas could not only assist combat troops, but ship-to-ship communications and search-and-rescue missions as well, said Syntonics president Bruce Montgomery.

“It would even work for police and fire departments,” he said. “For people that communicate within a line of sight, putting your antenna up 500 feet in the air is a huge deal.”

Syntonics’ solutions is a small, lightweight UAV about the size of a regular basketball. The tethered UAV can rise to altitudes of just over 150m, lifting the antenna with it. Troops on the ground would communicate using a regular radio hooked-up to the airborne antenna, benefiting from greatly increased line-of-sight range.

The antenna can remain in the air for days, drawing power through a slim cable containing both the electric conductors and an optic fibre cable.

It is remarkable easy to use, too. All an operator has to do is press the “up” button, and the drone flies towards the sky. Press “down,” and it comes back to the ground. The UAV can even lower itself safely to the ground, using an in-built battery, in the event the cable snaps for an unforeseen reason. It is, however, designed to withstand quite significant winds.

As the device uses optic fiber, it is jam proof, and Montgomery says that its small size and the altitude it can reach should make it harder to detect.