In Japan's first such initiative, disaster-response communications equipment was installed on a large uncrewed aircraft, and a demonstration successfully provided a communications area with a ground diameter of more than 5km from an altitude of 3,000m. Domestic manufacture and integration of the DRU pod into the aircraft, as well as airworthiness approval, were completed.
A demonstration was conducted to verify the provision of communications from the air using a DRU pod manufactured and integrated in Japan. The equipment is designed to establish a temporary communications area when ground communications networks are disrupted during a disaster. The demonstration aimed to secure communications rapidly during a major disaster and successfully created a communications area of approximately 5km on the ground from an altitude of 3,000m.
For domestic production of the DRU pod, the conformity of the materials, manufacturing processes, functions and quality requirements was verified. After integration into the aircraft, thermal-environment and electromagnetic-compatibility evaluations, as well as ground and flight safety confirmation tests, were conducted before airworthiness approval was obtained.
The demonstration was conducted with the cooperation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and the Japan Coast Guard, using the large RPAS SeaGuardian (MQ-9B) manufactured by GA-ASI. It was carried out as part of NICT's Beyond 5G Fund project.
The results could accelerate the early realization of emergency area-coverage solutions for disasters. The company plans to use the data and findings for further technological development and operational studies.