Issue 37 Unmanned Systems Technology April/May 2021 Einride next-gen Pod l Battery technology l Dive Technologies AUV-Kit l UGVs insight l Vanguard EFI/ETC vee twins l Icarus Swarms l Transponders l Sonobot 5 l IDEX 2021 report

84 Focus | Transponders operations once technologies for doing so are sufficiently proven out. 4G and LTE are widely considered to be acceptable for video streaming, but concerns over the consistency of their connections might have to be addressed to meet ACAS requirements – connection drop-outs could increase the risk of a collision at critical moments. 5G stands to bridge this gap, and enable high-altitude or urban airspace transponder networks to support or even replace ground-based interrogators. However, developing the necessary technologies for adoption of 5G in transponders and aerial interrogators requires improved access to specialised testing facilities, as well as some consolidation or simplification of the many categories of 5G, to establish hardware and software guidelines that are easier for manufacturers to follow. One potential solution being touted is that 5G could be used for securely transmitting and receiving ADS-B and FLARM signals in congested airspace, while LTE, 4G and even 3G could be used when flying in less congested areas. As is often the case with how transponder technology evolves though, only time will tell which innovations will be advanced to regulatory standards in the years ahead. Acknowledgements The author would like to thank Christian Ramsey and Ryan Braun at uAvionix, Tom Furey at Sagetech, Konrad Cioch at Aerobits, Chris Polynin and Robert McCullen at L3Harris, Maynard Factor at Kratos Defense, Andy Davis at Trig Avionics and David Pinta at UAV Navigation for their help with researching this article. April/May 2021 | Unmanned Systems Technology AUSTRALIA Microair Avionics +61 7 4155 3048 www.microair.com.au GERMANY Air Avionics +49 6224 98 96 999 www.air-avionics.com ITALY Leonardo +39 063 24731 www.leonardocompany.com POLAND Aerobits +48 500 501 305 www.aerobits.pl SPAIN Indra +34 914 805 000 www.indracompany.com UK Trig Avionics +44 131 449 8810 www.trig-avionics.com USA Avidyne +1 781 402 7400 www.avidyne.com BAE Systems – www.baesystems.com Collins Aerospace +1 704 423 7000 www.collinsaerospace.com Harris Corporation +1 321 727 9100 www.harris.com Honeywell +1 602 365 3099 aerospace.honeywell.com Kratos Defence +1 858 812 7300 www.kratosdefense.com L3Harris +1 623 445 7040 www.l3harris.com Micro Systems +1 850 244 2332 www.kratos-msi.com NextGen UAS Transponders – www.nextgenuastransponders.com Northrop Grumman +1 847 259 9600 www.northropgrumman.com Raytheon +1 781 522 3000 www.raytheon.com Sagetech +1 509 493 2185 www.sagetech.com Sandia Aerospace +1 505 341 2930 www.sandia.aero Sierra Nevada Corporation +1 775 331 0222 www.sncorp.com Thales +1 240 864 7000 www.thalesdsi.com uAvionix +1 844 827 2372 www.uavionix.com Urban Canyon +1 206 372 9032 www.ucflight.com Examples of transponder manufacturers & suppliers