Impact of SUAS Equipped with ADS-B on 1090MHz Environment

Abstract

The number of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS) has greatly increased in recent years. And it is expected that this number will continue increasing in the future. The SUAS may be operated in proximity of aerial vehicles (including aircraft) and it may be necessary to detect them electronically. One possibility is to equip SUAS with Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) surveillance system operating on 1090 MHz frequency. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of SUAS ADS-B 1090 transmissions on the reception of an aircraft ADS-B Extended Squitter by an ADS-B ground station. The systems being considered operate at low altitudes, typically under 500 ft above ground level (AGL). We found that high number of SUAS equipped with ADS-B flying close to ground ADS-B sensors can have significant impact on the operational range up to 40%.