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International audience; We present in this survey new technologies proposed for the evolution of the aeronautical communication infrastructure. Motivated by studies that estimate the growth of air traffic flow, it was decided to develop a future communication infrastructure (FCI) adapted to the future aeronautical scenario. The FCI development involves researchers, industrials, and aeronautical authorities from many countries around the world, and started in 2004. The L-band Digital Aeronautical Communication System (L-DACS) is the part of the FCI that will be in charge of continental communication. The L-DACS is being developed in Europe since 2007 and two candidates were preselected: L-DACS1 and L-DACS2. In this paper, we first describe the motivations of the FCI. We then give an overview of its development activities from 2004 to 2009. After that, we provide some insights about both preselected L-DACS candidates, at their physical and medium access layers. Finally, we address the challenges on the development of the FCI/L-DACS.

International audience; In the last decade, the aeronautical authorities ex- pressed their need to develop a new system for aeronautical radio- communications. The L-band Digital Aeronautical Communica- tion System (L-DACS) is the part of the future system that will be operating in a part of the aeronautical L-band (960−1164 MHz), already occupied by a large number of radio-frequency legacy systems. This paper aims at studying the L-DACS impact on a legacy system, the Distance Measuring Equipment (DME), under two critical situations. Such topics are fundamental in aeronau- tics, as any communication or radionavigation dysfunction may endanger flight and passengers security. Some obtained results will be used for the L-DACS standardization and its specifications finalization. For the first scenario (air-to-air scenario), we propose a deterministic algorithm to compute the interference level in the frequency domain. Since this seems to be insufficient for the second scenario (co-site scenario), we develop a time-frequency approach to analyze the interference using an aeronautical RFC test-bed that we implemented at Supelec.

In this paper, we consider the Radio-Frequency Compatibility (RFC) of a candidate system within future aeronautical communication infrastructure, being developed since 2004 to accommodate the evolution of the aeronautical environment. The system presented in this paper is one of the two preselected proposals for the L-band Digital Aeronautical Communication System (L-DACS), in charge of the continental communications. It is named L-DACS2 and will use the 960 to 1164 MHz band, allocated to the Aeronautical Mobile Service reserved for communications relating to safety and regularity of flight. This band is characterized by a very dense spectral occupation by a large number of aeronautical systems. The RFC (branch of electrical science that studies the coexistence of radio systems in the same electromagnetic environment) is very important for L-DACS deployment and if it is not satisfied, the flight safety could be endangered. We propose to study in this paper the impact of the LDACS2 on the Distance Measuring Equipment (DME), which has been using the L-band for decades. According to recent studies performed in the frequency domain (continuous transmissions and no time domain variations), the achieved RFC level seems insufficient. The objective of this work is to analyze the RFC between LDACS2 and DME considering the time domain aspects of both systems. The idea is to quantify the impact of the radio-frequency signals generated by L-DACS2 interferer (transmitter) on the performance of a DME victim (receiver). The study is performed for the co-site case (equipments onboard of the same aircraft). To study the RFC between the two systems, we investigate various modulations for the future communication system. The results are obtained through computer simulations and laboratory measurements with an aeronautical test-bed using a commercial DME unit. The DME performance degradation is evaluated for some values of the Signal to Interference Ratio.

In this paper, we consider the Radio-Frequency Compatibility (RFC) of a candidate system for the future aeronautical communication infrastructure. This infrastructure is being developed within the International Civil Aviation Organization since 2004, to accommodate the air traffic load and improve the aerial security. The system presented in this paper is one of the two preselected proposals for the L-band Digital Aeronautical Communication System (L-DACS), which will be responsible for the continental communications. This proposed candidate is named L-DACS2 and is foreseen to use part of the L-band spectrum (960 to 1164 MHz) allocated to the Aeronautical Mobile Service reserved for communications relating to safety and regularity of flight. Despite its potentially large spectrum, the L-band is a challenging environment for aeronautical communications because of the channel propagation characteristics and the dense spectral occupation by a large number of aeronautical systems. On the other hand, the RFC characterizes the electromagnetic compatibility between two radio systems and determines if they can coexist in the same electromagnetic environment. For this reason, the RFC is one of the main issues for L-DACS deployment and if it is not satisfied, the flight safety could be endangered. Hence, we propose to study in this paper the impact of the L-DACS on the Distance Measuring Equipment (DME), which is a very important equipment that has been using this band for decades. According to recent studies performed in the frequency domain , that is assuming continuous transmissions and no time domain variations, the achieved RFC level seems insufficient. The main objective of this work is to analyze the RFC between L-DACS2 and DME taking into account the time domain aspects of both systems. The idea is to verify and quantify the impact of the radio- frequency signals generated by a L-DACS2 interferer on the performance of a DME victim receiver. The study is performed for the co-site case (\emph{i.e.} when both equipments are onboard of the same airplane), which is the most critical interference scenario due to the proximity of both systems. The results are obtained through computer simulations as well as laboratory measurements. They present the DME performance degradation for some values of the Signal to Interference Ratio, assuming a constant DME signal level and different L-DACS2 interference powers.

The aeronautical community has recently decided to develop a new digital aeronautical communication system, named L-DACS, in order to fulfill the new air traffic requirements. This system, which will operate in the L frequency band (960 to 1164 MHz), would be internationally deployed from 2020. Many technologies were considered for this new aeronautical system but only two among them were preselected by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO): candidate one, named L-DACS1, is based on a FDD-OFDM technology and candidate two, named L-DACS2, is based on a TDD-GMSK technology. One of the most important issues for both candidates is the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) with the legacy systems operating in the same band or/and in adjacent bands. Different scenarios have to be evaluated due to the fact that these systems will be implanted either in the airplanes (on board) or in ground stations. In this paper, we propose to evaluate the air-air scenario, where we focus on the signals generated by onboard L-DACS transmitters on onboard victim receivers, taking into account the L-DACS antenna radiation pattern and the frequency mask. The study emphasizes that the interference phenomenon can be one of the main limitations for the L-DACS development.

General and commercial aviation authorities have been using amplitude modulation communication systems for more than 70 years. Due to the great increase of air traffic during the last years, the VHF band tends towards saturation, whereas the aeronautical community faces new requirements: data rate, spectral efficiency and network capacity (maximum number of aircrafts simultaneously connected). Recently, the development of a new digital aeronautical communication system, named L-DACS, was proposed. This system will operate in the L band part allocated to aeronautics. There were many proposals but only two candidates have been pre-selected by the ITU and ICAO for this future communication system: L-DACS1 and L-DACS2. The deployment of this new system is expected to start after 2020. Among other issues, one important aspect is the impact of L-DACS on legacy systems. Actually, there are many onboard systems operating in L band, and any disfunction can put in danger the flight safety. This paper studies the maximum interference level generated by the two L-DACS candidates on a generic onboard receiver. Taking into account the antenna radiation pattern and the specific transmission mask of both candidates, the study determines the worst interference level and the corresponding spatial positions of the aircrafts around the receiver. The results show that the interference level can be determined by considering the several nearest aircrafts to the victim.