UAV-aided maritime communication over the Pacific Ocean using the elevated duct toward future wireless networks

To bolster long-range maritime communication, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-aid communications have garnered increased attention as traditional maritime communication solutions face challenges from geographical and meteorological factors. This work first introduces a UAV-aided wireless communication system based on elevated ducts, offering solutions for flexible accessibility, wide-area coverage, and extensive spectrum resources for maritime applications. Influenced by the tropical trade winds generated by semi-permanent atmospheric pressure systems, elevated ducts frequently occur over the northern Pacific Ocean, with a probability of occurrence as high as 94.07%. The study found: (1) the feasibility of realizing over-horizontal, GHz-bandwidth microwave transmission links within the elevated duct; (2) The path loss budget of 189 dB is marked with black isoline, implying that the receiver of the UAV-aided communication system in the ducting layer can receive and demodulate microwave signals with 1 GHz-bandwidth; (3) QPSK stands out for its relative compromise in bandwidth efficiency and hardware implementation difficulty for signals of six digital modulations. Compared to ground-to-air communication networks utilizing elevated ducts, UAV wireless communication systems can provide efficient support for maritime communications with minimal path loss and serve as a crucial component in 6G networks. The study represents a significant advancement in establishing a high-capacity data links platform capable of delivering high-speed, large-capacity, long-range wireless communications over the ocean without the need for relaying.