Inmarsat uses AHRS from UAV Navigation to successfully complete BVLOS flights

The company Inmarsat, specialized in mobile satellite services, carried out during the months of October and November a test of BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) flights connected and tracked through its L band. To carry out these flights, it used a VTOL platform compact solution for satellite communications Cobham AVIATOR 200 integrated in turn with the POLAR attitude and heading reference system, developed by the Spanish company UAV Navigation.

The exceptional performance in conditions of high dynamics and navigation without GNSS as well as a great precision in the estimation of the attitude make the POLAR one of the most important references within the Airborne Data and Position and Heading Reference Systems available in the market.

This flight training was carried out autonomously and its initiation and monitoring was carried out by a pilot who was at a distance of 60 kilometers from the take-off and landing point.

All flights were carried out under the command and control of communication only via satellite, powered by FPV (Forward Position Video) and via Inmarsat's SB-S platform. Satellite communications and radio-frequency control were able to be carried out with total normality thanks to the precise orientation of the antennas of the communication system achieved through the data provided by the AHRS of UAV Navigation.

These successful tests are approaching the horizon for frequent and habitual use of unmanned platforms for long-range BVLOS missions, thanks to the reliability provided by the POLAR Heading and Attitude Reference System, key to a safe implementation of this new technology.