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arXiv · 2604.01582

Air-to-Air Channel Characterization for UAV Communications at 3.4 GHz

Anıl Gürses·John Kesler·Mihail L. Sichitiu
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Abstract

Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) networks require accurate Air-to-Air (A2A) channel models, but most existing work focuses on Air-to-Ground links and leaves the sub-6 GHz A2A channel poorly characterized. We present preliminary 3.4 GHz A2A channel measurements collected with a lightweight, reconfigurable, open-source channel sounder built from USRP B210 software-defined radios and a high-precision GNSS-disciplined oscillator mounted on two UAVs. Measurements were conducted at the AERPAW Lake Wheeler testbed using a spherical flight trajectory around a second drone to capture channel behavior over varying altitudes, elevation angles, and relative headings. From these data, we analyze fundamental channel properties, extract channel impulse responses, model fading behavior as a function of link geometry, and characterize fading statistics including RMS delay spread. The resulting dataset and analysis provide a more realistic basis for the design, emulation, and evaluation of physical-layer and MAC protocols for next-generation UAV communication networks.

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Anıl Gürses, John Kesler, Mihail L. Sichitiu. 2026-04-02. Air-to-Air Channel Characterization for UAV Communications at 3.4 GHz. https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.01582

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