INSTRUMENTING AN AIRBORNE NETWORK TELEMETRY LINK

Abstract

The Central Test and Evaluation Investment Program (CTEIP) Integrated Network Enhanced Telemetry (iNET) program is currently testing a wireless local area networking (WLAN) in an L-band telemetry (TM) channel to evaluate the feasibility and capabilities of enhancing traditional TM methods in a seamless wide area network (WAN). Several advantages of networking are real-time command and control of instrumentation formats, quick-look acquisition, data retransmission and recovery (gapless TM) and test point real-time verification. These networking functions, and all others, need to be tested and evaluated. The iNET team is developing a WLAN based on 802.x technologies to test the feasibility of the enhanced telemetry implementation for flight testing.