Simulating Antenna to Antenna Coupling on Aircraft Using a High-Fidelity Physics-Based Asymptotic Shooting and Bouncing Ray-Tracing Electromagnetics Solver

Today's modern aircraft are an airborne communication hub with a vast number of antennas. For example, small general aviation planes like the Cessna 172 can have 4 to 6 antennas while a commercial airliner like a Boeing 737 can have 25 to 35 antennas. Military aircraft on the other hand can have more than 50 antennas on board. These antennas support a wide array of navigation, surveillance and communication applications such as GPS, SATCOM (satellite communication), ILS (instrument landing system), Radar and radio altimeters, among others. While most communication applications such as SATCOM and UHF/VHF communication with air traffic control are between antennas on the plane and another antenna located off the aircraft, there are cases where antennas on the same platform may need to communicate. Applications like TCAS (traffic collision avoidance system), Radio Altimeters and datalink relays apply two or more antennas on the same platform with potential communication between them.