Aeronautical Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

Current aeronautical communications are extremely limited by the obsolete ATN standard, which does not allow aircraft to communicate directly with each other. The aeronautical community is already moving to replace the OSI-based ATN with the more efficient and widespread TCP/IP protocols. This paper takes this concept one step further and proposes an innovative architecture based on the TCP/IP protocol stack and Mobile Ad Hoc Networks. The new architecture will allow aircraft to communicate with each other in a dynamic environment, enhance existing services and provide the infrastructure for future ones. A modified protocol stack is proposed that includes an enhanced ad-hoc routing protocol and a mechanism that allows for the dynamic management of terminals in a node. Simulations results are provided that prove that this architecture has the potential to improve future aeronautical communications.