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Objectives
The objective of the VOIPAG project is to enable safe, routine, and scalable beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) drone operations in controlled and complex airspace, by restoring direct, real-time voice communication between remote pilots and Air Traffic Control (ATC). VOIPAG aims to overcome a key regulatory and operational barrier by providing an aviation-grade, standards-compliant solution that bridges VHF air band radio with satellite and 5G networks.
The project seeks to deliver a secure, low-latency, and resilient communication system that integrates certified hardware, robust software, and cybersecurity-by-design, ensuring reliability equivalent to manned aviation. By demonstrating interoperability with existing ATC infrastructure, VOIPAG supports Just Culture principles, improves situational awareness, and reduces operational risk.
Ultimately, the project’s objective is to unlock higher-density drone operations for critical use cases – such as medical logistics, infrastructure inspection, and emergency response – while supporting regulators and airspace users with a practical, certifiable pathway to integrating uncrewed aircraft safely into shared airspace.
Benefits
VOIPAG offers a unique advantage, by providing true, real-time VHF voice communication between remote drone pilots and Air Traffic Control, delivering functional equivalence with manned aviation, rather than surrogate or procedural workarounds. Unlike competitor systems that rely on telephony, relay operators, or non-certified voice links, VOIPAG integrates aviation-grade hardware, secure software, and satellite and 5G connectivity into a single, standards-aligned solution.
The product is designed for interoperability with existing ATC infrastructure, minimising change for controllers and regulators, while reducing operational friction for operators. Its low-latency, resilient architecture supports Just Culture principles by enabling direct, accountable pilot – ATC interaction, improving situational awareness and safety.
By addressing a core regulatory blocker to BVLOS operations in controlled airspace, VOIPAG delivers significant value: faster regulatory approval, reduced operating cost compared to human relays, and scalability across multiple airspace classes and use cases. This positions VOIPAG as a foundational enabler for high-density, commercial drone operations, where existing competitor systems fall short.
Features
VOIPAG comprises an integrated set of hardware, software, and network components designed to deliver aviation-grade voice communication between remote drone pilots and Air Traffic Control. At its core is a compact onboard (or ground-based) communication module that interfaces with standard VHF air band radios and bridges them securely to satellite and 5G networks. This enables real-time, low-latency voice transmission over extended ranges and beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS).
The system includes a secure hardware controller and a pilot-facing software interface, that provides push-to-talk voice control, channel management, health monitoring, and failover status. Built-in redundancy allows automatic switching between terrestrial and satellite links to maintain continuity of service. Cybersecurity is embedded throughout, with encryption, authentication, and aviation-aligned safety assurance.
VOIPAG is designed for interoperability with existing ATC infrastructure, requiring no changes to air traffic controller procedures or equipment. Its modular architecture supports integration with different drone platforms and ground control stations, while compliance with aviation standards underpins regulatory acceptance. Together, these capabilities directly support VOIPAG’s benefits of safety, scalability, regulatory confidence, and operational efficiency.
Challenges
Key challenges include achieving aviation-grade reliability and ultra-low latency over satellite and 5G networks, while meeting air band VHF and regulatory certification requirements. Ensuring secure, resilient voice communication interoperable with existing ATC systems is critical. Additional challenges involve cybersecurity, spectrum management, redundancy, and gaining regulatory acceptance for routine BVLOS operations in controlled airspace.
System Architecture
The VOIPAG system architecture is a modular, layered design that separates aviation-critical voice functions from transport and application services, to ensure safety, resilience, and certifiability. At the edge, an aviation-grade communication unit interfaces directly with a standard VHF air band radio, handling audio encoding, push-to-talk control, and radio keying. This unit connects to both mobile terrestrial (4G/5G) and satellite networks via independent modems, to provide dual-path connectivity.
Voice traffic is securely tunnelled, through an encrypted, low-latency transport layer, to a ground-based service layer, hosted in a resilient cloud or private infrastructure. This layer manages session control, authentication, prioritisation, and health monitoring, while remaining transparent to ATC systems.
A pilot interface, integrated with the ground control station, provides intuitive voice control, channel selection, and system status, with clear indication of link availability and failover. The architecture supports automatic redundancy, graceful degradation, and fail-safe behaviour, aligned with aviation safety principles. Standardised interfaces and modular components allow integration with multiple UAS platforms and ATC environments, while supporting future certification and scaling.
Plan
The project progress through four phases: requirements definition and regulatory alignment; detailed system design and prototype development; integration, laboratory testing, and cybersecurity assurance; and live flight trials in representative controlled airspace. Key milestones include architecture sign-off, prototype readiness, successful end-to-end voice demonstrations, resilience and failover validation, and a final flight trial report supporting certification and commercial deployment.
Current Status
The project has progressed from feasibility and is moving to a validated proof of concept. VOIPAG has been successfully demonstrated in live flight trials but only on 5G. To date we have enabled remote pilot voice communication with airport ATC using COTS hardware over cellular links. Current work focuses on auto failover between Satcom and 5G networks, productization, architecture refinement, and regulatory alignment. Upcoming activities include extended trials to transition from demonstration to operational deployment.
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