In collaboration with the Northern Plains UAS Test Site (NPUASTS) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), AURA Network Systems has completed a comprehensive flight-test report evaluating voice-relay service performance during beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations. The tests, conducted in Mayville and Buxton, North Dakota, assessed the technical performance of AURA’s hybrid voice-relay architecture against RTCA DO-377 standards for remote pilot communications.
BVLOS Voice Communications Testing and Results
AURA’s architecture integrates remote pilots with air traffic control (ATC) through a UHF command-and-control link and legacy VHF systems. Testing demonstrated measurable performance metrics critical for safe BVLOS integration into the National Airspace System. Latency averaged under 192 milliseconds, with 99% of transmissions remaining below 238 milliseconds—well within FAA-relevant thresholds for remote pilot situational awareness and controller responsiveness.
Voice clarity validation employed the Perceptual Objective Listening Quality Analysis (POLQA) standard, a globally recognized method for evaluating speech transmission across communications networks. Scores met or exceeded FAA benchmarks across all test scenarios, with intelligibility confirmed for both male and female voice samples. This testing simulated real-world terminal environments, with surrogate pilots and controllers communicating via AURA’s airborne and ground radios while independent assessments were conducted by a team from the University of North Dakota Aerospace.
Purpose-Built Aviation Infrastructure
AURA’s network uses exclusive, licensed spectrum designed specifically for aviation applications, delivering secure, low-latency communications for both crewed and uncrewed aircraft. The voice-relay system performs real-time conversion of analog voice to digital and back again, maintaining stringent latency and intelligibility requirements outlined in RTCA DO-377B, the updated standard published in December 2023 for command-and-control link systems.
Kevin Steen, CEO of AURA Network Systems, commented on the results: “This report underscores what we’ve built: a reliable, aviation-grade voice link that delivers clarity, speed, and trust — precisely what remote pilots and air traffic controllers need to operate safely and confidently.”
Trevor Woods, Executive Director of NPUASTS, added: “Clear, reliable voice communications are critical for BVLOS flight. These tests show that AURA’s system delivers — and we’re proud to help advance the technologies that make safe integration possible.”
The FAA-sponsored testing was conducted under the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) program, underscoring federal investment in communications infrastructure for uncrewed aircraft integration. AURA and NPUASTS have released supplementary video documentation of the flight tests and technical validation on AURA’s website and NPUASTS’s YouTube channel.
More information about Aura Network Systems is available here. More information about the Northern Plains UAS Test Site is available here.
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