100 Km Long Range Video & Data and Telemetry for Uav

LOS/Micro-wave / Long-range MIMO Radio (recommended for cost vs performance)

• How it works: High-power, frequency-agile MIMO radios mounted on aircraft + ground, using high-gain directional antennas and/or antenna tracking on ground station. Can sustain Mbps video downlink at 100 km in good LOS/altitude/testing. Silvus StreamCaster has documented ~85 km and programs have demonstrated 100 km in operational tests.

• Throughput: from a few Mbps up to multi-tens of Mbps depending on model/config (enough for compressed 720p–1080p).

• Latency: low (tens to low-hundreds ms).

• Pros: Low latency, controllable bandwidth, no per-byte satcom cost.

• Cons: Requires clear LOS, precise antenna alignment or tracking, frequency licensing/coordination.

SATCOM (L-band / SwiftBroadband / Ku/Ka / Starlink-type) — robust BVLOS

• How it works: UAV carries a lightweight satcom terminal or connects via a relay / ground Starlink gateway; video streams over satellite network to ground. Inmarsat/SwiftBroadband provide aviation-grade coverage; higher-throughput Ku/Ka or LEO constellations give better bandwidth.

• Throughput: L-band SwiftBroadband ≈ tens to hundreds kbps (basic) — not suitable for HD video; Ku/Ka/LEO can deliver Mbps+ for HD.

• Latency: higher (satcom ~500–800 ms for GEO; LEO lower but depends).

• Pros: Wide area coverage beyond LOS, reliable in non-line conditions.

• Cons: Cost (hardware + airtime), regulatory/export/usage restrictions (SpaceX has restricted some drone control use cases).

Hybrid: Long-range MIMO radio + SATCOM fallback

• Use MIMO radio as primary low-latency link; automatically failover to satcom for control/low-rate telemetry if radio lost. Best for mission assurance.