D. G. Pantenkov1, S. I. Shalgunov2, A. T. Egorov3, A. M. Vorobyev4, V. A. Koltsov5
1, 3, 4 JSC «Kronstadt» (Moscow, Russia)
2, 5 JSC «Scientific and production association Stekloplastic» (Solnechnogorsk, Russia)

Currently, large-scale complexes with unmanned aerial vehicles (CUAVs) of long flight duration, which can stay in the air for up to several days, have received great development and widespread use. At the same time, such UAVs of heavy and super-heavy classes can have a wide range of payloads on board – a radar station, an optoelectronic system, a digital aerial photo system, a radio and a radio monitoring system. A long flight duration automatically means a significant distance between the UAV and the ground control station (GCS). In this case, satellite communication channels become the main and only means of command and information exchange between UAVs and GCS. One of the main parameters of any communication channel is the information transfer rate. With regard to satellite communication of the radio link UAVs – spacecraft (SC) – GCS and GCS – SC – UAVs have a significant energy deficit on the signal propagation path due to the need to relay information through SCs in high orbits (geostationary and highly elliptical). Taking into account the above, the relevance and importance of the tasks solved by modern complexes with UAVs for special and civil purposes, a number of essential requirements are imposed on the design of radio-transparent fairings (RTF) for UAVs: in terms of strength, resistance to external influencing factors, aerodynamics and, of course, radio transparency in relation to minimization energy losses of the signal when passing through its walls, which ultimately significantly affects the final transmission rate of target information. This article is of high relevance, strict practical orientation and is devoted to the consideration of the results of the design of the RTF for a large-size heavy-class UAV and to the analysis of the characteristics obtained.

Due to its large volume, the article is structurally divided into three interconnected parts. The second part of the article presents the results of computer modeling to determine the level of energy losses during the passage of a radio signal through the walls of the RTF for the C- and Ku-frequency ranges, depending on the selected wall designs of the fairing itself, assessing the effect of the paint coating on the transparency coefficient of the RTF, confirming compliance with the requirements of survivability and resistance of the RTF under the effects of mechanical loads, acoustic noise, random broadband vibration, assessing the effect of aging during operation on the basic properties of the RTF.

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