Shipboard Radio Frequency and Free Space Optics Communications System using an Airborne Relay

Abstract

This thesis explores the possible gains and discusses the constraints of a communications system that uses a ship to unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) radio frequency (RF) link paired with a UAV to satellite free space optic (FSO) link to accomplish satellite communications. Analysis shows that a data rate of 2 gigabits per second (Gbps) with a 1 . 10(-6) probability of bit error can be attained by a shipboard system with a relatively small antenna and power supply if an FSO-enabled UAV is used. An experiment demonstrated that the addition of an FSO link and additional routing does not reduce the performance of a slower data rate RF link. The findings indicate that a composite RF and FSO ship-UAV-satellite system can be used within the Transformational Communications Architecture (TCA) and with the Navy's FORCEnet to enable network-centric operations (NCO).

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2005
Accession Number
ADA439542

Entities

People

  • Kenneth St. Germain

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Autonomy
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Aircrafts
  • Airframes
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Atmospheric Attenuation
  • Communication Systems
  • Computer Networks
  • Electromagnetic Radiation
  • Multiple Access
  • Network Protocols
  • Network Science
  • Optics
  • Radio Equipment
  • Radio Frequency
  • Transport Protocols
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Computer science

Readers

  • Enterprise Information Systems Architecture and Joint Command Capability Interoperability Support.
  • Radio communications and signal processing.
  • Tactical Satellite Communications Systems Engineering.

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy
  • Autonomy - UAVs
  • Space
  • Space - Satellites
  • Space - Spacecraft Maneuvers