Overview
ISO/IEC 4005-2:2023 - "Telecommunications and information exchange between systems - Unmanned aircraft area network (UAAN) - Part 2" specifies the physical and data link protocols for shared communication in UAAN. It defines a wireless distributed communication framework for units associated with unmanned aircraft (UAs) in Level II operations, where many operators share communication resources without centralized channel assignment. The standard targets licensed frequency bands and supports UA-to-UA, UA-to-controller, UA-to-ground-equipment and other local UAS communications.
Key topics and technical requirements
This part of the ISO/IEC 4005 series covers technical elements at the PHY and MAC (data link) layers, including:
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Physical layer
- Frame structure for data and tone channels
- Encoding procedures: CRC encoding, turbo encoding, rate matching, interleaving
- Modulation mapping, burst mapping and pulse mapping
- Physical procedures: slot synchronization, transmit power control, measurement reporting
- Coexistence operations for shared spectrum use
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Data link layer
- Channel and slot architecture (data slots, tone slots, slot blocks, super frame slots)
- Resource management: allocation, occupation and return of data/broadcast slots
- Broadcast and data exchange mechanisms, packet formats and slot planning
- Synchronization methods across distributed units
- Data link security provisions
- Interfaces with upper layers and with other UAAN parts (Control Communication - CC, Video Communication - VC)
The published table of contents and annexes indicate normative elements (e.g., turbo interleaver tables) and informative examples for competition, slot clearing and tone-slot operation.
Practical applications and intended users
ISO/IEC 4005-2 is useful for:
- UAV/UAS manufacturers and avionics engineers implementing air-to-air and air-to-ground wireless links
- Wireless protocol designers and RF system integrators building UAAN-compliant PHY/MAC stacks
- Regulators and spectrum managers evaluating coexistence and licensed-band deployments for low-altitude UAS
- Test labs, interoperability teams and certification bodies validating compliance with UAAN physical and data link behaviors
- Developers of UAS traffic management (UTM) or local control systems requiring distributed broadcast and exchange features
Practical benefits include standardized slot-based channel sharing, predictable synchronization and coexistence procedures, and defined interfaces to control and video subsystems - enabling interoperable, secure and scalable low-altitude UAS networking.
Related standards
Keywords: ISO/IEC 4005-2:2023, UAAN, unmanned aircraft area network, physical layer, data link layer, shared communication, UAS, slot allocation, turbo encoding, synchronization, coexistence.
Open preview (PDF)Telecommunications and information exchange between systems — Unmanned aircraft area network (UAAN) — Part 2: Physical and data link protocols for shared communication
