Airborne telemetry networks: Challenges and solutions in the ANTP suite

Airborne telemetry networks are an example of a wireless network domain with much higher mobility than either the Internet or MANET protocols were designed to cope with. The very high speeds and distances covered, combined with limited radio transmission power contribute to making fully-connected operation impossible in this environment. We present challenges specific to highly-dynamic airborne networks in conjunction with the mechanisms used to ameliorate them in the Airborne Network Telemetry Protocol (ANTP) suite. At the transport layer we use multiple reliability modes, depending on the traffic class. For routing we leverage geolocation information as well as using the store-and-haul mechanism. At the border of the airborne network, we translate these protocols into the standard TCP/IP network stack using the AeroGW gateway architecture.