C3 in UAS as a Means for Secondary Navigation

Abstract

Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) navigate using Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), but GNSS vulnerability precludes its use as the only means of navigation and requires a secondary means of navigation. A differentiating characteristic of UAS is their periodic communications with the ground station. This paper analyses the adequacy of employing UAS Command, Control and Communications (C3) as a secondary means of navigation. With no additional infrastructure, an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) is used to process C3 messages and to obtain the positions of the UAS. Navigation accuracy and integrity are calculated in a scenario with three UAS. The obtained results meet the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) requirements.