From Sim to Sky: Validating Public Safety UAS Communications

Public safety increasingly deploys Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) for missions such as wildland fire response, disaster assessment, and wide-area search and rescue. However, maintaining reliable communications in Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) and infrastructure-limited environments remains a significant technical challenge. In this session, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Public Safety Communications Research (PSCR) Division presents an approach to advancing UAS communications for long-range applications and ground station control reliability through integrated simulation, test method development, and live flight evaluation. Leveraging a high-fidelity simulation environment that models UAS mobility, command-and-control links, and data flows across heterogeneous networks, the team stress tests mission scenarios against key performance metrics and explores long-range link loss characteristics prior to field deployment. Presenters will connect simulation insights to real-world validation through controlled live flight testing and discuss how test methods align with responder needs. Attendees will gain practical insight into bridging modeling and field validation, establishing performance benchmarks, and advancing reliable communications for standards development.